Kidnapping
by Boriqua-chan
Summary: Sasuke sat up on his plush bed,dark eyes wide as saucers. Of course! How could he not have thought of it before? It was so obvious it hurt—his pride, that is. He was supposed to be a genius for Kami's sake! Haruno Sakura was Uzumaki's weak spot.
1. Chapter 1

**Anything with an asterisk (*) is Japanese that will be translated later on. (Got to love Google Translate!)**

* * *

Sasuke glared at the map on the table. No matter how he infiltrated, that baka would get in the way. No matter what he did, Naruto would always come up on top. The dark-haired ninja slammed his strong fists on the tabletop. The yellow map jumped up and landed crumpled on the desk, mocking him. Sasuke literally growled at the diagram.

No matter what he did, Kohona would win—they had that annoying Nine-Tails on their side. And that dobe_ didn't have a weak spot!_ Back when they were children, Sasuke was sure the spot was his precious ramen, but by now he had to have out grown it.

Sasuke refused to believe that small fact. Everyone had a weak spot, he reminded himself, everyone. "Seikō*," Sasuke cursed, his chest rumbling in anger.

The dark night outside his window only dimmed more with the more the Uchiha glared at the map. He had locked himself in his office, hours ago. He was trying to force himself to think of a plan. Any plan as long as it worked. But his stupid brain refused to give even the inkling of an idea. Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zero. It was as if his even his own brain was against the idea of attacking his home—excuse him, _ex_-home.

"Seikō, seikō, seikō!" he shouted into the air. Again, he pounded his fists to the desk, again, the map jumped. Glaring, he removed himself from his chair. He toppled over the stone desk on his way to the door. The maids would get it later.

Sasuke stomped his way to this room, muttering senseless curses at everyone and everything that dared to even look at him funny. The stone door to his room opened with only the mere rumblings of rock against dust. He tried looking through the Nine-Tail's defenses and anger, tried looking for a loophole in that perfectly guarded life of his. Every perfection had a flaw. A good night's sleep would help him look for it.

* * *

[**—Dreams—**]

* * *

_Naruto glared at the spot where Kakashi-sensei would always appear. He shouted to the empty air, "_Sensei!_ When the heck are you going to get here?" Sakura glared at the blonde; she was just as angry at her teacher, but she was more willing to vent it on someone rather than at the atmosphere._

_The rosette slapped the back oh her friend's head with the palm of her capable hand. "Naruto, shut _up_!" she growled at him, her green eyes aglow._

"_Hn…" the third member of Team Seven hummed in annoyance. "Both of you, quite," he ordered._

_Sakura smiled, ignorant of the rude tone that layered his each and every word. "Sure, Sasuke-kun. Just tell it to Naruto-baka!" Again, she layered Naruto's head with another slap. The sound echoed off the iron of the bridge._

"_Sakura-chan…" Naruto whined. His big blue eyes shined sadly. "That hurt!"_

_The eleven-year-old glared. "I know."_

* * *

[**—Dream—**]

* * *

Sasuke sat up on his plush bed, dark eyes wide as saucers. Of course! How could he not have thought of it before? It was so obvious it hurt—his pride, that is. He was supposed to be a genius for Kami's sake!

The girl was the key. Haruno Sakura was Uzumaki's weak spot.

Too hyped up to even think of going back to bed, Sasuke stood up in all his shirtless glory. Stomping, he grabbed his dark robe and threw it over his shoulders. The door rumbled open. Sasuke made his way to his secretary's desk, knowing that it was her job to be awake at this hour, should her master need her.

The little brunette shook in her seat as her master ordered her about. "I need Karin and Suigetsu—_now_!"

"Hai, Master!" She scrambled for the keys to both rooms.

Sasuke stormed into his office. The desk was upright, his papers in their places, and the map of Konohagakure on his tabletop. Stubbornly, his long, tan fingers reached for a brush. He traced in a path—the most obvious path, through the gate and to the office. So painfully unoriginal it would be the least expected plane of action. After he had done that, Sasuke grabbed a piece of paper and drew in directions in a hand not even similar to his own. There was no way he was going to let anyone trace this back to him. He had written down:

_Haruno Sakura o sagashite kudasai. Gurīn no me, pinku no kami. Kanojo wa mura zentai ni pinku no kami no ippō nomidesu. Nakayoku naru kanojo. Nichiji repōto to modotte kite.*_

He put that with the map and put it on the side of his desk.

"Sasuke-kun?" Karin's voice asked. Sasuke raised his head to her, his black eyes stern. "You called?"

"Hai," Sasuke growled, "I know."

Suigetsu slurped down his water. "Grumpy pants this morning, aren't we?" Sasuke responded with a growl.

"Karin, go put on your best wig and contacts. Come back," the young Uchiha ordered. The redhead nodded and poof-ed out, only to poof back in, her eyes the lightest blue and her hair a light black.

Karin posed in her tight little skirt. "What do you think, Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke growled. "_Contacts _and _wig_, not genjutsu."

"Oh, but, Sasuke-kun, don't you think this is just the cutest thing?" she whined. He glared at her.

"Sasuke said wig, stupid," Suigetsu teased. Sasuke's black orbs shot daggers at both of them. Purple eyes dragged down to the black water bottle in his hands. "Sorry, sir."

Sasuke nodded. Karin left a fog of smoke in her place. His onyx eyes turned to the blue-headed man. "Suigetsu. You need to find her"—Sasuke rummaged in his desk; when he was twelve he had the official Team Seven picture, and never had the guts to throw it out, now he pointed at the little girl in the middle of the photograph, with her eyes closed and her fists to her cheeks happily—"and befriend her. Come back with daily reports. Leave Karin behind so no one gets suspicious."

"Aye, aye, cap'ain!" Sui grinned. "One question, though: Why?"

"She's going to help us get through Kohona…" Sasuke gave an evil smirk.

Karin's large cloud of smoke floated about the room as she reappeared. She had a short, black wig in her hands and a case of contacts. "Sasuke-kun, why do I need these? Can't I just gen—"

"Hn, no. They'll notice."

Suigetsu slid the picture from the middle of Sasuke's fingers. He studied the scowl on the little blue-headed boy's face, the open-mouth frown on the blonde, the obvious smile under the silver-headed man's facemask, and the little girl's large beam. He knew some of these people in the picture—okay, _one_ of them. The silver-headed man was obviously Kakashi, the famous copy-nin. There was something familiar about the other three…he just couldn't put his finger on it…

Snapping his fingers, the aqua-haired man grinned. "You want us to grab your kid too? He doesn't look very happy in…" he searched the headbands, "Kohona."

Karin frowned. "Sasuke-kun doesn't have a kid…he came to us when he was twelve." The redhead stole the small photo from his hands. There was a little boy who looked an awful lot like Sasuke. "That's not his kid—that's him!"

"When was this taken, Sasuke?"

"Long ago."

"Then…wouldn't that little girl have grown up?" Suigetsu asked.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "She's a year younger than I am now. She'll still have that pink hair. That's what you need to go on, idiot," he growled.

"Don't you have a picture of her now?" the water-ninja muttered.

"Baka, does it look like I have a picture of her?" Sasuke shouted. His temper was rising and he just wanted to get this over with. He rubbed his temples with his fingers. "Find her. Get out of my sight. Leave _now_. I want this over with!"

* * *

[**—Karin & Suigetsu—**]

* * *

After taking the piece of paper that was obviously for them, Suigetsu and Karin ran out of the office like mice running from a cat. Karin had put on the dark black wig and her purple contacts. She figured they could act like siblings, she and Sui. She put on a trench coat and some boots. Suigetsu waited for her, already dressed.

The loud _slurp_ of Suigetsu's water bottle hadn't stopped as he studied the picture. He wondered what a cute, innocent—no doubt naive—girl had to do with any of Sasuke's plans.

"Sui, let's get going. Sasuke-kun—" Karin rudely started as Suigetsu pushed himself off the threshold.

"Yeah, yeah. Sasuke-kun's going to get angry," he finished for her. "I wonder what she has to do with any of this…"

"Sasuke-kun knows what he's doing…"

Purple eyes rolled.

* * *

[**—Later—**]

* * *

The green gate's red symbol shinned in the sunlight, looking brighter than blood. All it had above it were the Kohona symbols and two figures reading something in old Japanese that no one could read anymore. The gray concrete made the red look even brighter.

Sui sighed and took one step into the village hidden in the leaves. He was officially behind enemy lines. That made him feel somewhat important. He, Hōzuki Suigetsu, was now the only rival ninja ever stepped into the airtight protection of Konohagakure. He ran a hand through his bronze-colored wig. Why Karin took so long in getting hers on, he'll never know. He got his on in two seconds.

Karin took her first step into the village. Running soon followed that step—running to the office. She never took pride in anything. Suigetsu sighed. "K—" he started, only to cut himself off, remembering that Karin wasn't her name when she was in Kohona. "Mazenta*!" But it was too late. The so-called Mazenta already had Sui eating her dust. The now redhead ran after her.

_Mazenta_ suddenly stopped, her neck craning up. Sui stopped behind her. "What up?" She put a suddenly pale finger to the sky. Multiple heads, large as life, stared them down. He'd seen it in pictures, the mural, but this was…this was…_yowza_. "Yow! Those are big heads!"

"Uh-huh…," Karin muttered. "Talk about being a hot-head! Bet you these Hokages were hell on earth, thinking they were all that."

"Yup," Sui agreed. "Now, let's go to that tower. We need papers."

The busty blonde looked them up and down. There seemed to be nothing wrong with these two newbees. In fact, they looked somewhat innocent. They looked like the kind of kids that would _stop_ a fight instead of cheering it on. Tsunade decided she liked the two Orenji*. She also found it humorous that Mazenta had two colors as a name. Translated her name was Magenta Orange. Sad…

"Alrighty then. Who's oldest?" Tsunade asked. The bronze-headed Jonasan* raised his hand. "Okay." The Hokage pointed at a spot on the paper before her. Next to her, tower-sized stacks of paper watched her, begging to be finished next. "Sign here, Jonasan."

He watched her with clear purple eyes, grabbed the pen put right in front of him, and signed in the clearest calligraphy Tsunade had ever seen: _Jonasan Orenji_. Mazenta sat quietly on a chair next to her twin. She looked like a discrete, quite person. She reminded Tsunade of a ninja of hers.

Tsunade smiled widely. "Welcome to Konohagakure, the village hidden in the leaves. I trust you'll be a model citizen."

"Hai*, Hokage-sama," the Orenji twins said as one.

"Free to go," the blonde grinned. There was something about these two…she had to have them meet someone…someone she could trust. "When you leave, go to the local ramen shop. Someone there will show you around. He's got funny blonde hair. If he's not there just ask the people for 'Uzumaki Naruto.' "

"Hai."

Tsunade beamed. "Off with you, kiddos."

The sun in this blasted village was worse than hell on earth! Karin felt like whipping off the mother-effing goat-fur wig and everything else that covered her on a day this damn hot.

Growling at herself, she stomped to the ramen stand not far from the office.

"Where the hell we going?" Suigetsu asked.

"Ramen. The hag said ramen shop," Karin hissed. The cool breeze of the AC seem to calm more than just her body as she entered the little booth. She walked to the man asking people for their orders. "Sumimasen*,sir. I'm looking for a…" She racked her mind for that funny name. "Uzumaki Naruto…?"

The blonde being served turned in his chair and gave a smile. "Uzumaki Naruto, Kohona ninja, at your service!" He gave a military salute along with a toothy smile. "Haven't seen you before…" He squinted sky-blue eyes. "You new?" The boy seemed to stupid to know much of anything, let alone be a ninja. If they let goofballs like this one be ninja, how in the world did they have any protection at all?

"Dude, yeah," Suigetsu muttered boringly. "Excuse my sister. She's a bit too excited about moving. I'm Jonasan and this is Mazenta. Lady Hokage told us to look for you."

The teen's mouth made a big O. "Baa-chan sent you," he realized. "Well, I'm Naruto. I'll show you around."

"Arigatō, man, arigatō," Sui muttered. He remembered the mission, which was more important than sightseeing. "Can we meet anyone? You know, people. It'd be good to not feel so alone here," he asked.

"Sure! Sai and Kakashi-sensei will be here soon," the blonde told them. He grinned. "And then you can meet the girls—Sakura-chan said she would be around with TenTen and Hinata and Ino…"

Karin frowned in confusion. Her pale cheeks turned down; that was the object of their kidnapping. "Sakura…"

"Yeah!" Naruto shouted. "Do you know her?"

Karin looked up with covered red eyes. "Huh? No, uh…" _Lie, lie, lie, lie._ "Sakura was my mother's name."

"Was?"

"Uh…yeah," Sui said. "Mama and Papa died long ago."

Naruto frowned. "Sorry," he murmured. "At least you'll fit in. Mine died when I was born; Sai never met his; Kakashi…well, he's Kakashi; and Sakura's parents abandoned her when she decided to become an ANBU."

Karin and Sui looked at each other and back at the blonde. They didn't know what to say. They weren't supposed to make friends with anyone other than that Sakura chick.

"C'mon!" Uzumaki shouted, patting the seats next to him. "Take a seat. Let's eat."

* * *

**Mazenta—Magenta **

**Jonasan—Jonathan**

**Sumimasen****—excuse me**

**Seikō—fuck**

**Orenji****—Orange**  


**Haruno ****Sakura o sagashite kudasai. Gurīn no me, pinku no kami. Kanojo wa mura zentai ni pinku no kami no ippō nomidesu. Nakayoku naru kanojo. Nichiji repōto to modotte kite.**—**Look for Haruno Sakura. Green eyes, pink hair. She's the only one in the entire village with pink hair. Befriend her. Come back with daily reports.**

**Okay. There you go. Enjoy. :) **


	2. Chapter 2

**Asterisk (*) equals Japanese that will be told at the ending Author's Note. :)**

* * *

Sakura sighed as Ino gushed over some guy's picture in a poster along the side of the white wall in lingerie store. Why TenTen forced them to come here, Sakura will never know. Okay, so maybe the brunette did have something "important" planed with her fiancé who was coming home for the first time after five months. What did that have to do with Sakura? She was the only single woman out of her friends. TenTen was with Neji, Naruto had finally taken the hint and was with Hinata—though he still said that Sakura was his best friend and he would give his life to save her, her and Hinata—and Ino was with the emotionless artist Sai.

Sakura pulled a loose lock of her hair and stuffed it into her ponytail without taking off the hair tie. The top of her head had small, short strands of pink hair look as if an invisible source of gravity held them up. The back of her ponytail looked spikier than was per usual. She fit in with the rest of her ex-team. Six years later and she finally had the spiky hair that the rest of them did. Was she the only one that saw the irony in it?

TenTen came out of the dressing room as Ino gave on last longing sigh. The tip of the snowy white silk nightgown covered only the pinnacle of her pinkish-tannish skin. "What do you think?"

Sakura gave a soft, miniature smile. "Neji will love it," she approved.

TenTen smiled. "Thank you, Sakura."

Hinata, blushing darkly at all the silks that exposed almost everything on anyone's body, manikin or not, toyed with her fingers. She glanced up with clear, embarrassed lavender eyes. "You-you lo-look pretty, Te-TenTen," she stuttered. "Neji-san will-will a-adore it."

The brunette posed, looking herself in the distorted mirror. "I hope so…" she muttered to herself. Frowning, TenTen watched as Ino kissed her fingers and put them to the man's face. _Note to self,_ the panda-haired teen thought, _never bring Ino shopping_. "Ino? Are you done shopping?" The blonde had gotten herself a baby blue, floor length silk nightgown. She had a feeling she wouldn't be wearing it for long after she showed Sai. But Sai was emotionless; maybe he wouldn't know what to do.

Green eyes glittered softly. "Go get dressed, Ten. The guys are waiting for us," Sakura told her.

Ino's blonde head flipped to her best friend when she heard the word 'guys.' Her sky-blue eyes shinned while TenTen changed back in.

Sakura turned to her. "Hai*, and you can bring poster man with you. I think Sai'll get jealous though," Sakura teased. Ino stuck her tongue out at her. Sakura smiled and turned to Hinata. The violet-headed girl smiled shyly and happily, playing with her fingers.

The rosette, hair messy and untamed, stood and stretched her back. She had been gone for just three weeks to look through one of Orochimaru's abandoned headquarters. The White Snake was killed by Sasuke's hand, that was renown. Where, however, Sasuke went was a mystery. Sakura, knowing Sasuke's brain best, was sent to the neglected cave to check for clues. Sakura hadn't liked sleeping there for the past month or so. It reminded her too much of Sasuke—of what he had become, what he might have done, of him, period—but she hadn't complained when sent. Perhaps, _just perhaps_, she would find something that held meaning to him, and maybe, _just maybe_, she would learn a little more about who he was now.

Just perhaps. Just maybe. Of course, Sakura knew it was a shot in the dark. All she managed to uncover was a few scales and a key chain with the Uchiha fan on it. All of which she had to give to Tsunade. She couldn't even keep the key chain—the fingerprints on it may have been fresh and could help them find him now.

TenTen came out in that pink Chinese-style shirt everyone thought she had abandoned. She was trying out her old style again. Sakura stretched again and looked expectantly at TenTen. "So," the jade-eyed teen hummed, "we need to go food shopping or are you good for the month? 'Cause after we go to the boys, Shika's going to help me go grocery shopping tomorrow. If you need food, we can go then, right?"

Hinata walked to Ino, who was still drooling. TenTen smiled. "Shika? I think somebody's getting over _he who shall not be named_," she put emphasis on the last six words.

Sakura glared. "_He who shall not be named_," she repeated, "still needs to be found. And Godaime Tsunade has appointed Team Kakashi and I with finding him. So no, I am not over anyone nor am I looking to find anyone. Shikamaru is like Naruto—he's my friend."

TenTen rolled her large brown eyes. "Ino, Hinata—the guys," she reminded them.

* * *

[—**Later**—]

* * *

Naruto's spiky blonde hair was one of the first thing Sakura saw as he ran over the horizon excitedly to them. He shouted, "Onnanoko*!" TenTen's armfuls of shopping bags were nothing more than a minor obstacle to the girls' walking speed. Ino was a flash of purple as she ran to the blonde, knowing that wherever he was so would Sai. Sakura rolled her eyes at that.

The rosette put a handful of the bags she was given into TenTen's arms. Sakura just walked over to the jumping blonde. "Hey, Naruto!" she muttered.

"H-h-hi, Narut-t-to-kun," Hinata said, being the first to hug him. Naruto sneakily stole a kiss and Hinata blushed scarlet.

"Hi, Hinata-chan!" the blonde Uzumaki grinned. Sakura smiled at the two. "Konnichiwa*, Sakura-chan," he said, giving the girl a one-armed hug. "TenTen! How's Neji?"

The brunette, arms overflowing with white bags and boxes, peeked over the things. "He's coming back today, Naruto," she answered. Then, she shouted at Sakura, who was already ordering a few anko dumplings, "I'm going to bring these home—be right back!"

Sakura sat down on one of the stools, smiling widely at the odd looking pair sitting next to her, and shouted, "Yoshi*." TenTen took off. Sakura's bright spring-green eyes turned to the bronze-headed boy and black-haired girl around her age. They had the same color eyes. "Hi."

Naruto sat next to the two, Hinata on his trail. Kakashi stuffed a white grain of rice into his mouth.

* * *

[—**Suigetsu & Karin**—]

* * *

Suigetsu frowned into his dried cuttlefish ramen. He hated this fish with a fiery passion. Why he didn't order a yogurt or maybe a nice, jiggling jello he'll never be able to justify. His rational, ninja side knew that anything that related Jonasan to Suigetsu was a bad thing. On the other hand, his selfish, stubborn side knew that his tastebuds would never be rid of the horrid taste. He poked at the slices of thin meat in his bowl. He knew he had to eat them, lest he be questioned, but he was regretting the moment he told that blonde ninja that his favorite food was dehydrated cuttlefish.

Karin, on the other hand, was digging into her shrimp ramen. She was starving. She hadn't had anything to eat since yesterday morning. Sasuke had kept her swamped with paperwork all day yesterday. She was honestly thinking about ordering more and slipping the bill off to the teimei* ninja. Hungrily, Karin pushed her short black hair behind her ear and pushed the chopsticks into the little bit of noodles left.

The blonde stood up from his tenth bowl of kami*-knows-what-kind-of ramen. "If you want anymore, feel free to buy some—Teuchi gave me free coupons for my birthday two months ago," he offered. Karin would not hesitate in taking the suggestion. Sui nodded for both of them as Karin slurped down the rest of her shrimp. Naruto ran off, leaving them with the odd albino skinned boy and the silver haired ninja. Anyone could hear Naruto's shout of, "Onnnanoko!"

Karin pushed away the empty white and red bowl. Sui stared at his. "What're your names?" she asked, though she already knew them—not by name, but on a more personal level, she'd like to believe. Not many people who knew others' names knew fighting techniques.

The dark-haired boy with the emotionless eyes stared at her for the longest while. Karin chewed on the inside of her cheek, refusing to think that he might have somehow recognized her. "The name I was assigned is Sai," he told her emotionlessly. "I hear it is customary to tell your own name before asking for another."

Karin blinked. _Somebody's_ blunt. "Watashi o yurushite kudasai*, Sai," she muttered to the artist. "My name is Mazenta," Karin whispered, "Orenji Mazenta. This is my brother Jonasan." The so-called Mazenta pointed to the man inhaling grains of rice as if they were the very oxygen he needed. Something told Karin that he was just as starving as she had been. "Who is that?"

Sai watched Karin carefully, watching nothing but what Karin hoped was curiosity on her face. "That is Kakashi-senpai."

Karin sighed and slouched into the palm of her hand. She and her "brother" were stuck here until Uzumaki Naruto brought them the victim of their mission. The way he said her name told Karin that the girl meant something to him, something enormous. Mazenta felt bad that she would have to take something so important from the poor, unintelligent goof; of course, her undeniable need to please Sasuke overruled so many other feelings.

Sui growled at the thin strips in his bowl. A small dog whimpered at his feet. He gave a quick glance around and fed the dog the ramen. Satisfied, Suigetsu lifted the now empty bowl and laid it besides Karin's. He looked for the pocket in the former redhead's beige trench coat. He searched the large pocket for that note. Secretly, he pulled it out and reread it. The Naruto kid said that this Sakura Sasuke wanted was to be around in a few minutes. To get this kuso* mission started, they needed to find this kuso rosette.

"Kakashi," Suigetsu muttered, raising his lucid violet eyes. He wanted to say something to the copy-nin, wanted to learn his secret…but, alas, he was a villager not a ninja.

In raising his eyes, the ninja noticed a longhaired blonde trample onto the pale-skinned artiste. Said blonde gave a kiss to Sai's thin lips. He gave a fake looking smile. Sui wondered who this was, because if this girl knew Naruto, she could know the rosette Sakura.

"Hi, Sai," the girl said happily.

Sui looked down at his cut fingernails, trying to look uninteresting in the conversation. Eavesdropping was an important part of any mission, whether it be an easy D-rank mission or a difficult S-rank.

"Back from shopping?" Sai asked.

"And back into your comfy lap, yes," the young woman murmured. Sai laughed lightly.

"And is ugly back, or is she with Nara?"

Suigetsu twirled his thumbs around each other, listening intently, trying to catch every emotion in the voices. Was it just him, or did the impassive shorthaired teen sound as if he was jōdan*?

"Sakura's"—_Sakura!_—"here." Suigetsu heard the stomping of soft feet. "Look at that…"

A sweet, innocent voice said, "Anko dumplings, te kudasai*." That was all Sui could observe, while Karin saw a flowery green charka. The kind that could be happy, serious, giddy, upset, all in one. The type that could do much for good and evil both, should she so decide. It was the content kind of charka that anyone could befriend that flowed through the strange girl's slender body. She turned her pink haired head to a girl with Chinese buns about ten inches taller than her. "Yoshi," she shouted. Then she looked at Sui and Karin beside her with vivid, apple green eyes. "Hi," Sakura greeted tiredly.

Sui checked the note in his hand, which was hidden under the booth. _Green eyes, pink hair_—the girl fit the description perfectly, plus she was beautiful. It was obvious that her hair, though in a mess, was soft as silk; that her long legs were ivory strong and velvet soft. Her upper half was easily a C if not a D, depending on whether or not she was wearing bindings. Her arms were thin, but so obviously muscle. Her tights accented her thighs excellently and the pouch that hung from them dangled along with brown leather gloves. Her short, lime colored, razor-sharp nails looked like something to fear.

"Sakura-chan," the baka's voice rang. He came into view, an arm over a busty violet-haired girl, who looked awful shy. "Order me a large serving of miso ramen with roasted pork fillet!"

Haruno Sakura sat next to the copy ninja, where Naruto had been sitting, right between Karin and Kakashi. Sai had moved away impassively, Ino towing him along. "Teuchi—the usual for Naruto!"

"Un*, un, Sakura!"

Sakura spring eyes and flower pink looked out of place in this December setting. Everyone had out at least one Kurisumasu* decoration lying about their windows. At least the sun was never going to set early. The fact made her seem less…he didn't know, less like spring on the run. She smiled at Suigetsu and Karin, extending her fair-skinned hand. "I'm Sakura. What're your names?"

"My bad!" Naruto shouted from behind Sakura. The girl beside Naruto muttered something, telling him to quote down. He pointed a hand at Sui. "This is Jonasan," he then pointed at Karin, "and this is Mazenta. They're new villagers!"

Sakura nodded. "Oh… Yōkoso*, then, Mazenta, Jonasan."

Karin slipped into her social mood rather easily. Her mission was to befriend Haruno Sakura. This she would do. Karin gave a happy-go-lucky smile. "Thank you, Sakura-chan. You can call me Maze."

Sakura smiled. There was a slip of stress in her genuine beam. "Well then, hi, Maze," Sakura said in her innocent voice. She turned to the silver-haired man, still inhaling down the rice. She placed a hand on his chopsticks. "Kakashi-sensei," she said calmly, "you're going to kill yourself like that. I know you're hungry, and so am I, but calm down."

Jonasan's thin, strange whitish-blue eyebrows creased. "Sensei? So, he's, like, your teacher?" Sui tried to appear dense. Sakura giggled.

"Yeah, he was. Now, he's the guy killing himself with eating too fast," the rosette answered. She patted her teacher's back. The guy coughed. "It's been a long three weeks." The two were sent on the same mission together. He had helped, but Sakura had been the one to find the little bitty things that were found. "But sooner or later, one of those grains will go down the wrong tube and into your lungs. I refuse to give emergency lung surgery on this booth, sensei!"

Kakashi grinned under his facemask. She may not want to, but Kakashi knew that if it came down to it, she would. "Yoshi, Sakura-chan. Understood. Can I eat now?"

Sakura smiled. "Slowly."

* * *

Sakura laughed at something Karin said. Karin couldn't believe how believing the rosy haired girl was, how trusting, how easy going. She felt bad about having to take her from her home, from her land. It was so obvious that she loved a lot of the people here. Her eyes glowed when she watched the girl, whose name Karin had learned to be Hinata, and Naruto. She laughed whenever her ex-teacher cracked a joke about the "path of life." Her charka flared every time the blonde said something stupid, as if she wanted to kick his ass into next week. Naruto flinched as if she might.

"Hey, Maze, Jonah"—Sakura already had a pet name for Sui—"do you have anyplace to stay?" By the time she asked this, the sun was setting. It was getting to be around ten.

The supposed twins watched each other, wordlessly asking for an answer. "Naw," Jonasan responded.

Hinata watched them worriedly, and said, "Where w-were you plan-planning to stay?"

"I donno," Mazenta answered. "Ask my genius brother." Sakura laughed.

"Fath-Father won't mind if…if I let you stay with-with us," the Hyūga said. "We have a-a-a lot of rooms."

Mazenta smiled that odd, lopsided smile of hers that reminded Sakura of Sasuke's smirk. How she put those two together, the Haruno will never know. Sakura stood up. Her hair was in a bigger mess than before. "That would be great!" the Orenji girl shouted.

Sakura smiled, happy that her new friends had a place to stay. "Wonderful," she muttered enthusiastically. "I'm going home. I have a shift at the hospital tomorrow and"—she glared at Naruto—"I have a feeling—just a feeling—that I'll have a wounded Uzumaki in my office." She yawned and gave a hug to the closest person to her seat. "See you later, Kakashi-sensei." Down the line she went, hugging Hinata then Naruto, hesitating before hugging Mazenta and Jonasan.

* * *

[—**Sakura**—]

* * *

When she was out of sight, Sakura ran as fast as her tired sanded feet would carry her. She poured charka into her feet just so she could push herself forward. She didn't care if she passed out on the way; she didn't care if she was depleting her own charkas. She just wanted to be home, to her little apartment. She couldn't take it anymore. She needed relief.

The moon was high in the sky when Sakura crouched down in front of her window. In a dash of pink, red, and black, she was inside her red room, Team Seven's official picture cradled to her chest. Her eyes were rimmed with red veins within seconds of crying.

She couldn't take it. It was all too new. The mission she had just gotten home from only refreshed her memory. She thought that maybe, just maybe, time would heal the wound. But it didn't. It made it fresh as the day it was given to her. It was like pouring lemon juice onto her lesion.

The deserted headquarters was crawling with charka—old charka, new charka, familiar charka. Hai, most of all it was the familiar charka that sent her back into this spiraling depression. It was fresh, she had told her senpai. The truth was it was fresher than fresh, as if he had been there moments ago. But that was only to Sakura, for she was most attuned to his charka. It had grown more sinister, more evil, and it frightened Sakura to death. She thought that perhaps Sasuke was in that place where death would be the only help.

So Sakura cried and kicked and screamed and shouted. With every kick and scream and tear, she died a little. Her chest ripped a bit; her heart broke. She pulled the picture closer to her heart as if it could fill the empty gap.

What she wouldn't give to be back in Team Seven. She would give her strength—her sight—her medical skills—anything, just to be that blithe kid she once was. The carefree one who had people she knew she could trust to protect her. What she wouldn't give to be twelve. What she wouldn't give to go back to before the team broke up; before the madness. Before the Chūnin exams could mess anything up. Before Sasuke went off for power, before Naruto tried to bring him back, before they left her all alone…

The rosette felt so opposite her looks. Her looks told the story of a cheerful girl with happy eyes. She felt like a dead woman inside, with cold eyes.

Sakura didn't make it to her small bed. She was kicking and howling on the wooden floor of her room, wanting nothing more than to die. Team Seven had died and along with it, any chance Sakura had of happiness.

She couldn't take it! She couldn't take the looks as the villagers whispered. She knew what they were whispering—_"There's the girl who couldn't protect her family. We dare call her a ninja!"_ She was doing her kuso best! She wasn't Naruto and she wasn't Sasuke—she had no demon inside her, no grief-driven revenge scheme.

She could pretend for her friends—she had gotten very good at pretending over the past six years, very good indeed. Even the best actresses need a time to go back to reality. She had been the normal one in Team Seven, and now that was her greatest downfall.

She kicked and shouted, hugging the framed photograph tighter to her missing heart. Her heart was missing. A twelve-year-old Uchiha had taken it long ago. The only thing she had to fill that empty spot was a picture. That portrait only made the hole grow worse, especially after missions like the one she had just had. Sakura was addicted to this picture and its memories.

The smile on her face set an image for what Naruto expected to see day after day—mindless happiness. The scowl on Naruto's face represented a time in which we would get angry easy, when he didn't know a worse rival than Sasuke—a happy time. The frown on Sasuke's face symbolized his mercy, back then when the worst he could do was burn you to a crisp—when he was happier. The crinkle in Kakashi's eye signified how proud he was of his team—back when they were a team.

When she was out of breath and out of energy, she withered on the timber floor. Tears rolled down her cheeks even in her sleep, where her mind replayed their reunion and distorted it to make it look worse. Not even her dreams were safe from her desperate state of mind. Nothing was safe. _No thing._

* * *

[—**Karin**—]

* * *

She couldn't believe her eyes. She had just seen this girl laugh like there was no tomorrow. Now the same girl was squandering away on her own bedroom floor.

Karin had excused herself from the gathering of "friends" at the ramen shop under the pretense of going to look around. Really, she was just going to spy. Karin had only expected to find out what Sakura liked, what she hated, so that she could speed the befriending process along—but what she found was much worse. She had found a squandering, distressed girl, holding a picture frame to her heart and shouting—shouting as if her life depended on it.

Sakura shouted and screamed and cried, thrashed and wept and yelled. She shouted names, names Karin knew—Kakashi, Naruto—but there was one name that shocked her, Sasuke. This name Sakura shouted most of all. Mostly, though, her bellows were senseless and irrational. She shouted as if she was in pure agony. Then, rosy-headed girl just whimpered and twitched until she stayed absolutely still. Even then, her chest heaved up and down unevenly, as if there was some part of it missing, and tears harassed her closed orbs and landed around her pink hair, forming a halo of salty tears.

Karin couldn't take it. She couldn't imagine how horrible Sakura must have felt. If Karin couldn't even _witness_ it, she wondered how Sakura could _live_ through it. The wigged redhead felt the need to help. But she couldn't do so until she knew why she was crying.

If only Karin knew why Sakura was crying…

* * *

**I can't believe how good this turned out. After writing how Sakura felt, **_**I**_** feel dead inside. Wow… You cannot imagine how hard this was to write in one day. My cousins are here and I was so happy and I wanted to finish this so I could hang out with them and now I feel dead. I want to cry now. Tell me if you think so too.**

**Disclaimer:**** I do not, nor will I in the **_**near**_** future, own Naruto. If I get rich and famous, maybe I'll buy it off the owner (whose name I cannot recall at the top of my head). Until then, I own nothing but the plot and writing. **

**Konnichiwa—hello**

**Yoshi—Alright**

**Teimei—sluggish**

**Onnnanoko—girl(s)**

**Watashi o yurushite kudasai—Forgive me please**

**Kuso—fucking**

**Kami—god**

**Hai—yes**

**Jōdan—kidding**

**Te kudasai—please**

**Un—yeah Kurisumasu—Christmas**

**Yōkoso—welcome**


	3. Chapter 3

**Asterisk (*) equals Japanese that will be told at the ending Author's Note. :) If it isn't in this one, it's in a previous one.**

* * *

Frantic and fearful, Karin shot from rooftop to rooftop in nothing back colorful dashes. She just hoped Suigetsu hadn't already gone to Sasuke. The Uchiha needed to know that the woman he wanted kidnapped was…was not unstable, but depressed. Karin didn't know what a depressed girl would have to do in any plan Uchiha had in mind. Karin felt for the girl, she really did.

_But what was Sakura crying over?_ That was the question that hammered at her throbbing head. It was the inquiry that banged on the door of her mind, begging to be let in and answered.

Karin followed the trail of aqua-colored charka along the sidewalks of the village by way of rooftop and treetop. It was fresh, so Suigetsu had just left the ramen shop. A violet color and reddish orange followed his. Desperate and confused, Karin tried her hardest to go as fast as Sakura had when she went to her house. The girl had reached it in less than thirteen minutes and she lived halfway across the village. The redhead was so fraught that the three charkas had a distinct _smell_ to them. She was sure this was all in her head.

Her ostensibly yielding silhouette skidded to a stop. The large house had faintly glowing trails going into the house. She stormed into the house, disregarding of the fact that this was not her home. The shorthaired black-head zoomed through the corridors, her sandals making only the quietest of clicking sounds, so low that not even amazing ninja such as the Hyūga could hear. She followed the glowing blue charka. The orange one had been lost at the door. The door gave way to the first knock Karin gave.

Suigetsu frowned at Karin's wide, nervous heliotrope eyes. "What is it?" he asked, ripping off his wig.

Karin was too breathless to notice the finery lining the walls. "Suigetsu!" she shouted lowly. She refused to bring attention to herself. "Where's paper? I need a pen," ordered she.

Sui shook out his silver-blue hair and tied his sword—Karin had no idea how he had kept it unseen all this time—around his back. He pointed to a white desk. Karin ran to it. Her arms were shaking. She hadn't even been the one crying and she was shaken to the very marrow of her bones.

Karin wrote:

_Sasuke-kun wa, watashi ga shitte iru hitsuyō ga arimasu - naze anata wa sakura-chan ga hoshiidesu ka? Kanojo wa totemo ochikonde imasu. Kanojo wa kokoro ni gakubuchi o motte ita. Nani nitsuite, anata wa shitte imasu ka? Watashi wa sensaku suru hitsuyō wa arimasenga, watashi wa kono, sasuke o shitte iru hitsuyō ga arimasu. Kanojo wa watashi o shinpai shite imasu. Watashi wa kanojo no tame ni kowaidesu. Kanojo wa hikisaka ni mieru, kanojo wa jibun no namae o sakenda. Anata wa kono koto nitsuite nani o shitte imasu ka*?_

—_Watashi wa anata o aishite*, Karin_

Kami, this was eating at her insides. She had to know this. It killed her. She couldn't imagine being Sakura, with that pain—that gut-wrenching agony—munching hungrily at her insides. She had only witnessed it. What was living though it like? Karin shuttered at the thought.

The wigged redhead stuffed the note in Sui's palm. "Make sure Sasuke-kun gets this and make sure he wrights back," she ordered. Uncaringly, Suigetsu stuffed it into his gray pants. "Hurry up. I might be able hold them off for a bit, but take no longer than the night, najiru*."

"Whatever," Suigetsu growled. He kneeled on the windowsill. "Anything else?"

"Isogu*!" Karin ordered and sighed, slipping into the bed that was still made.

* * *

Sasuke impatiently stomped around his office.

When the seikō was that kuso ninja going to get here? It was well past midnight. He didn't care when the jigoku* Suigetsu left, he knew damn well that he was supposed to be back at one in the morning.

Sasuke's dark orbs glared maliciously at his pacing feet. The little brunette girl stood shyly at the side of the door. She was no ninja, but this vigor flowing off him made her more fearful of him by the second. She preferred Orochimaru over this…this oni*—_Orochimaru!_ Chairo* had noticed her master being especially pissed since last night—excuse her, this morning—when he sent out the most discreet members of his former team Hebi. Chairo noticed it had something to do with something he did, thought, or gave when he called them together. He was…not as pent up as he was now yesterday. If asked, the twelve-year-old had no doubt her master would say something along the lines of, _I am not, you insolent child; work with the papers_.

Sasuke watched his black sandals with intentions anything but angelic. The sound of whooshing air and body weight landing on stone exchanged places with the ninja-sandals, which were by now scared of their own owner.

Suigetsu sat with one leg dangling over the edge of the window and another resting on the ledge. A hand was stuffed inside his pants.

Sasuke growled, "Mo*?"

Sui smiled, his sharp teeth peeking over and under his lips curiously. "Mo. That girl you want? Yeah," he nodded, his purple eyes watching black ones carefully, "she's sexy." Sasuke gave a low growl. Sui grinned; pissing his so-called master off was an easy task he enjoyed very much doing. He smiled fondly. "Sakura's a nice girl. She's real easy to get along with. So is that Naruto guy that the Hokage had us meet."

Sasuke glared. "_Uzumaki_ Naruto?" he asked tetchily.

Suigetsu laughed at the rough jealously in Sasuke's voice. It was hardly recognizable, but it was there nonetheless. "Un, good guy he is. He's loud as seikō, though! And that girl, Hinata—she let us stay at her place. She's hot! Honestly, Sasuke, why didn't you _tell_ me Kohona was full of sexy-shiri* onnnanoko? There was this blonde too! Thick, long hair—"

Sasuke knew that description off the top of his head. He knew all of his ex-fan-girls—it was the only way to stay the jigoku away from them. "Ino…" he muttered. Then snarled, "I want to know of _Sakura_ not Ino."

"Grumpy pants," Suigetsu muttered. "Alright. Karin's taking care of becoming Sakura's friend and I'm making sure no one suspects us. After she trusts us, we're taking her here, or are we taking her someplace else?"

"Elsewhere," Sasuke hummed. "Anything else?"

Suigetsu racked his empty brain. "Nope, I guess not. Oh! Wait—" he pulled a crumpled up piece of stationery with the Hyūga emblem on it "—Karin told me to give you this and for you to write back." He outstretched his hand to the pissed Oto no rīdā*. "She looked like jigoku when she wrote it, and she wrote it right after spying on Sakura—I suggest you right back, Oto no rīdī."

Sasuke glared at the ninja and snatched the white page from his hands. The Uchiha looked at his servant expectantly. He wanted something from him, he just didn't know what. He knew he had given it to him, and he also knew that Sui had no use for what he had given him now.

"Oh," Suigetsu gasped. He dug into his other pocket and took out a perfectly smooth photograph. "I have no use for this, I guess. Here," he told his master. Sasuke seized it from Sui's fingers angrily. Some part of him sighed with relief. Sasuke gently put it inside his shirt.

A bit less irritable now, for no exact reason as he would have everyone believe, Sasuke smoothed out the small page onto his desk, where he had spread out another, newer map of Kohona. His black, soulless eyes read the paragraph written on it swiftly and grabbed a page from beside him. _Okuraseru*,_ he wrote.

_Okuraseru, kanojo wa kono ue ni madadesu ka? Watashi wa benchi ni kanojo no 6 kuso-nen mae o nokoshimashita. Watashi wa kanojo ga mada yowai koto o shitte ita. Mochiron, kanojo wa anata no yōna, tan'ni betsu no fan no on'nanokodesu, watashi no namae o sakende imashita. Kanojo ga motte ita sono e no furēmu wa, hotondo no kanojo wa son'nani aisa chīmusebun gazō kanō-sei ga takai. Riyū wa, watashi wa kanojo ga jibun nodesu ka naze, anata wa shitte iru hitsuyō ga aru no wa, sore wa watashi dakedenaku, anata o kaisai suru kotodesu*._

Sasuke threw it at Suigetsu. "Is that all," the water-ninja asked. Sasuke waved a hand to dismiss him. "Jeez, when Sakura gets here, I hope she does you good. You need to let lose."

Sasuke glared at him. Suigetsu made a face and jumped out the window. The midnight-haired self-proclaimed Kage sat in his chair. He wondered why he felt so…relieved to know that he hadn't been replaced. What was he talking about—he was Uchiha Sasuke! Replacing him was impossible, as so proved by Naruto, Kakashi, and Sakura. He wondered why having this picture in his possession made him breathe easier. It was just a picture—a piece of paper with ink on it.

A piece of paper with ink on it in the shape and color of his old team.

Sasuke shook his head, removing that sentence from his mind for what he hoped to be forever. He had no alliances, no "team." His only alliance was to and with himself. When Sakura came to his possession, became his slave for the rest of her life; she would tell him whatever she knew, without resistance. As proven by this piece of letterhead, the weak kunoichi was still morning his loss.

All he wanted from the girl was information. Information and a chance to worry Naruto to death, to make him so disheartened that he would come after Sasuke in one of his legendary raging fits that had no plan whatsoever. One of those fits might just be enough to get into Kohona; while everyone was worrying over the nine-tailed jinchūriki and Kohona 11 was both busy with keeping Naruto at bay and searching for their precious Sakura, Sasuke would walk right in. He knew all the spineless villagers would run and hide into their dear homes. No one would be safe. Not while he had Sakura. No one would _dare_ fight Sasuke for fear of hurting Sakura, of sending her into a deeper depression that she apparently was in now. Sasuke would have his revenge. He would wreak havoc.

* * *

**Sasuke-kun wa, watashi ga shitte iru hitsuyō ga arimasu - naze anata wa Sakura-chan ga hoshiidesu ka? Kanojo wa totemo ochikonde imasu. Kanojo wa kokoro ni gakubuchi o motte ita. Nani nitsuite, anata wa shitte imasu ka? Watashi wa sensaku suru hitsuyō wa arimasenga, watashi wa kono, sasuke o shitte iru hitsuyō ga arimasu. Kanojo wa watashi o shinpai shite imasu. Watashi wa kanojo no tame ni kowaidesu. Kanojo wa hikisaka ni mieru, kanojo wa jibun no namae o sakenda. Anata wa kono koto nitsuite nani o shitte imasu ka? — Sasuke-kun, I need to know—why do you want Sakura-chan? She's so depressed. She was holding a picture frame to her heart. What do you know about that? I don't want to pry, but I need to know this, Sasuke. She's worrying me. I'm scared for her. She looks torn apart; she shouted your name. Do you know anything about this?**

**Watashi wa anata o aishite—I love you**

**Najiru—twit**

**Isogu—hurry/hurry up**

**Jigoku—hell**

**Oni—ogre**

**Chairo—brown**

**Mo—well**

**Shiri—ass**

**Oto no rīdā—Leader of Oto**

**Okuraseru—retard**

**Kanojo wa kono ue ni madadesu ka? Watashi wa benchi ni kanojo no 6 kuso-nen mae o nokoshimashita. Watashi wa kanojo ga mada yowai koto o shitte ita. Mochiron, kanojo wa anata no yōna, tan'ni betsu no fan no on'nanokodesu, watashi no namae o sakende imashita. Kanojo ga motte ita sono e no furēmu wa, hotondo no kanojo wa son'nani aisa chīmusebun gazō kanō-sei ga takai. Riyū wa, watashi wa kanojo ga jibun nodesu ka naze, anata wa shitte iru hitsuyō ga aru no wa, sore wa watashi dakedenaku, anata o kaisai suru kotodesu. — ****Is she still not over this? I left her six fucking years ago on that bench. I knew she was still weak. Of course she was shouting my name, she's just another fan-girl, like you. That picture frame she was holding was most likely the Team Seven picture she loved so much. The reasons why I want her are my own; all you need to know is that it will held you as well as me.**

**Merry Christmas. It's short, but, you know, I wanted one last one up before I went to PR. Tell me what you think. I'm trying to keep this as realistic as I can. I think I'm succeeding, but kami only knows. Tell me what you think. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night! HO HO HO! I wrote it before I left and the stupid thing didn't want to show up, so I just reloaded it.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Asterisk (*) equals Japanese that will be told at the ending Author's Note. :) If it isn't in this one, it's in a previous one.**

* * *

Sakura blinked her eyes open. Her long pink eyelashes were caked onto each other. She knew she had to fix that in case Naruto noticed, but all she wanted to do was lay on her back and drink in all the sun's nutrients. The night before was just a distant, vibrant memory. Pink tresses formed a halo around Sakura's pale face. That halo was soaking up the unwelcome saltwater that reminded her of the night.

The ball of yellow-orange flames warmed the wood floor. Sighing, Sakura stood up. Look at her—still in her gear! In the violent heartbreak, she hadn't noticed her senbon attached to her thigh, along with the kunai-pouch. Sitting up, her numb fingers unwrapped the bandage-tape that held her outfit together. She didn't need all this—she was in the village today, all she'd need would be kunai and maybe a scalpel or two.

Her fingers felt like dead, heavy, useless stumps. The bandages felt like a sticky mess compared to how they usually were. The tape on the inside stuck to her legs, reminding her that she needed a bath. It was times like these that she thanked her lucky stars that the sun rose early in the Hidden Leaf Village; most likely it was still six in the morning. She didn't have to work until eight. That would give her more than enough time to take a shower, brush her teeth and hair, mop the floor, and erase any and every trace of tears anywhere in her house.

Anesthetized and inert—as if running on autopilot—Sakura looked around for a clock. The only one in the room read 5:59. She yawned and pulled off her boots. After that, she checked her hair for inevitable knots. Tiered and upset, she strode to the bathroom for a sweltering shower. She couldn't feel her cheeks, numb as they were. Steam would fix that, but she'd need to was her face in the wash-bin, so the girls in the baths wouldn't get worried.

Sakura didn't want to go out into the world. She didn't want to have to pretend that she was happy, that nothing was wrong, that she was strong, that there wasn't a gapping hole inside her chest where her heart _should_ be. Her throat closed up a bit when she thought of Sasuke, stuffing the memory of him and the heart she gave him to the back of his now corrupted mind, wherever he may be. Kami only knew where he was.

Sakura sighed at her thoughts, fearing as the edges of the hole throbbed. Thoughts of Sasuke only made the hole worse. She wrapped a towel around her now nude body. The poor thing was battered and worn, and it was still fluffy as the day she got it. She smiled—though her heart ached—as she thought of that day. It was one of the rare times when Sasuke would walk her home.

* * *

_Sakura walked slowly in the evening sun. Naruto's birthday, October 10th,was just a week away. She didn't have anything to get him! She was stuck between getting her dad to make him a kunai and buying him ramen coupons…_

_Feeling a presence behind her, Sakura stopped her musings, smiled, and turned around. "Sasuke-kun!" she shouted happily._

"_Hn…" was the expected response, but instead, she got, "I'm walking you home."_

_The rosy-haired girl's rosy complexion flared to a dark red as her grin widened. "Sure, Sasuke-kun. But why?"_

_The anticipated reaction was used to answer her inquiry. Sakura hid the frown that showed her disappointment with a look up at the sun. She had things to do, and she didn't want to slow Sasuke-kun down. This time, she did frown at him and said, "I have shopping to do; won't that slow you down?"_

"_I'll shop with you."_

_A smile snuck its way onto Sakura face. "Okay! First, we have to buy milk and formula. Oh, Nao is getting so _big_!" Sasuke looked at her questioningly. Sakura frowned, realizing she hadn't told him about Nao. "Nao's my cousin's baby boy," she informed quickly before getting back to the list. "Then we need to buy some metal for Daddy's shop, and then some towels. Are you sure you want to come with me?"_

_Sasuke nodded his head._

"_Yoshi."_

* * *

Sakura wondered how she got to the hot springs of the complex. She must've been too lost in the memory to notice her feet going. Nao was five now, being born a year before she went into the Academy. He didn't remember Sasuke at all now, and when they met he loved Sasuke so much. Lost memories are the worst kind of memories. When they come up in his poor little mind he'll be so confused. _How can someone so nice to me be so evil,_ will be the question floating about his little brain.

Sakura bit her lip and threw off the towel, stepping into the steaming springs. She missed Sasuke so, _so_ much.

* * *

Karin glared at the window. That shiri was supposed to be here by now! It wasn't like Oto was a million miles away! The Hyūga people are so close to waking. They might try to wake the "guests" up. Oh, what will they say when they see one of them is missing?

And, Kami-chikushō*, why wasn't she wearing her contacts or her wig?

Rushing to put them on, she wondered what Sasuke's reply to her note would be. Would he care? Would he have even answered? Did Suigetsu lose it? Karin made an odd, half groan, half growl, all sigh sound at the thought. She felt the need to leave his wig on the table and let him be figured out. But what would Sasuke-kun say? He would be okotte*, that's for sure. An okotte Sasuke was not a subarashii Sasuke.

She ripped the bronze wig off its place on the table with vigor and stuffed it in the closet.

A soft sound whipped her head to the door. Nothing. She turned to the window. Perhaps the blonde ninja was looking for them. But no, it was her kuso teammate, kansha* Kami! "Sui! You were supposed to be here at five! It's six! What the hell?" she reproached when her breath found her. Fear of being caught had scared it from her minutes prior.

Suigetsu hopped down from the window ledge. "Sorr-_ie_, mama*," he grinned. "I was watching Sakura walk to work. Can't bring her to the bosu* damaged, now can we?"

Karin glared at him. "Your wig's in the closet, asshole. We're going to visit Sakura at—" She cut herself off. "Where does Sakura work?"

Sui rolled his eyes as he opened the closet door. Karin really didn't listen, did she? He sighed exasperatedly and answered, "The hospital, oni." Karin nodded, ignoring the insult.

Some part of her doubted that Sakura, after the violent trashing that she went through last night, would be up and ready for work. The rational part of her mind knew that one would need a better night's sleep after that. Karin had to fight the part of her mind that shouted, _If she's not in bed, I'll drag her there myself_. She had to remind herself that she "didn't" know about her midnight nightmare.

"Sui," Karin mumbled, "where's Sasuke's answer?"

Stuffing his aqua hair into the irritating hairpiece, Suigetsu scowled. The glory of being the first man behind enemy lines quickly vanished as the itch of the wig took over. Sui cracked his knuckles once the toupee was on. Kami he felt old—using wigs and words like _toupee_. He grabbed the paper from inside his pocket and threw it to the black-haired girl. "I'm going to change. Don't watch."

"Tch," Karin said as she caught the vellum. "Like there's anything to see."

Suigetsu rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Just—just read your note!"

* * *

Now fully dressed, Sakura cracked her knuckles. Her white doctor's gloves were in the wash, so plastic ones it was she would have to use. The synthetic ones were a yellowish-white—the type of gloves that give a patient chills that go down their spine, through their toes, up to their fingers, and back, only to start the cycle again. Because her patients were mostly sick ninja and little kids, she didn't want to use them—but what could she do? This was supposed to be her day off, which was why the gloves were in the wash. But, alas, Rizu*'s dad _did _die. Because of Sasuke, three months ago. The funeral was today. Rizu*'s dad, Rakimu* was one of the most respected elder ninja. Sakura wanted to pay her respects, but she hardly knew Rakimu.

So instead, she did Rizu a favor and covered her sift so she could go to the funeral. The end of her father's era. The end of the fun with him. The loss of a loved one is so painful. Sakura knew. Her loved one may not have been her father, but it was someone loved even more. The love of her life, Sasuke. He was lost. Lost, not dead. And knowing that he wasn't dead was more painful. She preferred him dead. At least then she knew if he was safe. But he was lost. _Missing_—and he didn't want to come home. Like a runaway child. That was what he was. He was only seventeen and he _did_ runaway at twelve.

She missed him so much.

* * *

**I decided to make it short, the chapters that its. If it's short, u won't have to wait so long for me to update. I won't take so long. It'll be easier to read, and make the story look longer in chapters. If u disagree review and tell me that.**

**Chikushō—damn it**

**Okotte—pissed**

**Subarashii—nice**

**Kansha—thank**

**Mama—mom**

**Bosu—boss**

**Rizu—Liz**

**Rakimu—Rakim (famous singer from "Rakim y Ken-y")**

**R&R!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Asterisk (*) equals Japanese that will be told at the ending Author's Note. :) If it isn't in this one, it's in a previous one.

* * *

**

Sakura gave a soft smile to the five-year-old that had come as she fixed up his little sister. As she massaged the girl's little, sleeping leg, Sakura's green eyes watched as the little red-haired boy swung his legs back and forth on the chair that was just a bit too high for him.

"Nazukeoya*, where is Mama?" he asked, his voice soft and low. He didn't like watching Cherushī* wince in her sleep, whether or not Oba* Sakura said she didn't feel a thing. He didn't want to fight the feeling of having to protect Cherushī from Nazukeoya. He wanted to be with his mother.

"Nao, I don't know baby. Mama went out to do some shopping. She'll be back though," Sakura muttered as she rubbed a spot on Cherushī's leg. The poor four-year-old had no use of her legs…weekly massaging helped a bit nonetheless. Sakura had to swallow down bit of bile when she diagnosed the girl just months ago. The black-haired, honey-highlighted was two—she was at the age to walk. Just to think—maybe she would never be able to?

"Can…" Nao winced as his sister shivered in her sleep. Sakura frowned concernedly. "Can I go to the Uchiha DayCenter?" The teenage godmother flinched at the name Uchiha. The things that family had donated the hospital. Two thirds of the things in the large hospital were most likely theirs. What they had done…and then Itachi killed them. Sakura couldn't be happier to know that the only man who had the right to kill him had killed the weasel.

Inserting some charka into her fingertips, Sakura sighed and told him, "Call a nurse to take you there. You're not going by yourself." Nao nodded and pressed the nurse button.

* * *

Karin had lost all respect for the object of the mission. To Karin, that was all she was—no longer a person, but an it. The redhead had thought she was better then her—that she hadn't fallen victim to Sasuke's looks. Karin thought that perhaps there _was_ a woman out there who was immune to him. That conceivably she didn't have to have another rival in the world. She honestly thought that perchance Sakura could have been the superwoman every Uchiha fangirl needed.

But no. If Sakura, the girl who could stand up to violent nights' assaults, couldn't be the superwoman, was there hope for anyone? _Sakura's just another one of us,_ Karin thought bitterly. That same vinegary tone ran though her ever bone as she walked beside Suigetsu. "S—Jonasan," Karin said, her Mazenta persona in place, "go to the mission's house. Check around. _Don't touch anything_—no, wait, yes. Find a picture frame. Check if the picture in it is the same one as Sasuke gave us. Leave it where it was. Steal a towel or two."

Suigetsu nodded. "Mazenta, we have towels at the Hyūga's… If Sakura needs one, we can always steal one from them."

"Just do it! I'll be at the hospital." Sui nodded and turned around, walking to Sakura's. Karin continued to the hospice.

* * *

The smell of bleach, antiseptics, and blood assaulted Karin's nose. Karin hated hospitals; that was why she had forced herself to learn the Heal Bite. Her skin crawled with the spirits of the many who had undoubtedly fallen in this building. She pulled her short blue sleeves down, trying to cover as many goosebumps as possible. The white reception desk was clean as could be. Now, Karin wasn't a medic, but wasn't too much clean a bad thing?

"Can—can I please"—the cold, the kind of cold you only get in a hospital, was making her shiver—"go to…to Haruno Sakura's office?"

The muscled man gave a gentle smile. It was the smile one often gives to children. He spoke through the intercom, his deep voice echoing. Back came the sound of Sakura's preoccupied voice, only Karin couldn't hear it. The man gave Mazenta a grin and said in that fatherly voice, "She'll have you in." Karin's purple eyes stared at him. "Oh," the man whispered. "Take the stairs to the first floor, go strait down the hall. Third door to the left; that's her office." She nodded her thanks.

The biting cold was just as bad as, or if not worse than, Sasuke in his worse mood. It was the cold that only doctors got used to…or really sick people with bad fevers. The aura of death was floating in the air. The familiar Grim Reaper got more frightening with every visit he gave. Karin could almost feel his long, white, bone-fingers wrapping around her and every other patient in the hospital, only to snap them back into his long, depthless sleeves every few seconds—a doctor come to snatch his pray from him—and then grip another. The game of Catch the Flag went on as she walked up the stairs, the Flag being another human within inches of the Reaper's fingertips. The former kunoichi of Kusagakure could only shiver as the skeletal fingers of Death gripped, un-gripped, and re-gripped patients' lives, waiting to put one in his Bag of Souls.

The dear Grim Reaper had a valued friendship with Sasuke. He appeared just when the Uchiha needed him to, bringing death to the unlucky few that the Sharingan wielder had selected. Karin was used to him, yet she always had that fear that anyone would—that Sasuke would one day use that friendship with the Reaper to end her.

The long stairway stopped and wound around to another floor. The letters above the two swinging doors read _F1_, for Floor 1. Karin swung the double doors open, inviting the smell of flowers over the smell of bleach and blood. This floor apparently was for kids only. It made sense, to her, that the floor for children smelled the nicest. What kind of cruel sicko would make a child smell the rot and decay, the depression and anger, in the Lobby? Not even Sasuke was that brutal. The Lobby, apparently, doubled as an extra ER.

Following the directions the fatherly nurse gave her to the dot, Karin looked three doors down to the left and entered. Sakura's short, rosy hair was looking start at her, her green eyes looking down at a patient. She was hunched over the child. Karin took one step out and closed the door with her, observing as the teen, with controlled charka, massaged the little girl's legs. Her eyes flashed to the right of her, where a little redhead watched, blinking back tears from his chocolate brown eyes. The red plastic of the chair the boy was sitting on made a hissing sound as the little guy lifted himself up.

"Nazukeoya," the boy wined, "when's the nurse coming…?" His little tear-droplets appeared in his voice, making it crack here and there.

"Nao, please! I love you baby, but, I need to concentrate. Cherushī might be in more pain if I don't. Press the button again. Shika'll be here in a minute or two, he'll take you." The boy whimpered and sat quite.

Karin knocked on the door lowly, her head peaking in through the entrance. "Can I come in?" she muttered softly, her eyes shifting from the boy, Nao, she guessed, to the girl, to Sakura. The little boy had almond shaped eyes, just like the little girl—whose closed eyes were facing her—and their noses had the cutest little birthmarks and smallest little arch. They looked like siblings.

Sakura didn't even look up from the girl. The rosette simply growled out, "Mazenta—shush! Come in and play with Nao, okay?"

"_Obaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa_!" Nao complained.

"Nao-oi*, Mazenta isn't from here. She doesn't know—just wait for Shika."

* * *

Bright, gleeful brown eyes looked up at green eyes from the plush of her wheelchair. Wavy honey locks curled in and out of the charcoal waterfall. Her hair flowed over the back as she lifted her head up to see Sakura. "Oba-chan! Oba-chan!" the little girl shouted, a smile spreading her lips thin. "Look, Oba! I can move my toes! My tose-ies didn't want to before!"

Sakura knelt down in front of her, large forehead to large forehead. Cherushī had inherited the most hated Haruno family trait—though she was a Verón on her father's side—the outsized forehead. "That's nice, ShīShī," she said, breathless out of relief for her cousin's daughter. "Roll over to Nao-kun and tell him, why don't you?" Cherushī's chair wheeled out from under Sakura's body. The girl had a wide smile on her tan, half Puerto Rican, half Japanese face.

Sakura straitened out her back and turned to her black-haired visitor. "I'm sorry I didn't pay more attention to you before, Maze. I just… Cherushī's so young…she doesn't disserve to be in a wheelchair… I'm just trying to help her…"

Karin could see a sliver of agony in Sakura's green eyes as they dimmed a bit. It was just a shadow of the pain she had seen in her last night. Not even a shadow…a dark little spot, more like it. "It's okay," the violet-eyed teen nodded. She tried to convince herself that she _wasn't_ respecting her, she was just…_faking_ it. Yes, faking was the word. "Hey, Sakura," Karin brightened her voice, "you want to go shopping?"

Sakura bit her lip. "Actually, Mazenta, I was going with another friend. I need some food and he's helping me carry it." Sakura didn't fell good turning down the new girl, but she had plans with Shikamaru and she was sure it would bore her.

_He?_ Karin wondered. "You mean Naruto-baka?" The added 'baka' was a mistake on her side; but the blonde just reminded her so much of Suigetsu that it was amazing that they didn't meet when Sui wasn't putting up a play-show. _They would've gotten along so well,_ Karin thought, _and annoyed the seikō out of me._ But then again, maybe not… They _were_ on opposing sides, after all.

Sakura laughed at Mazenta's slip-of-the-tongue. "I call him that too. And no, Maze. Another guy. Shikamaru."

Karin pursed her lips. Then she widened her eyes so wide that her contacts almost fell out and shouted, "Maybe Jonasan and I can join you! I need to know where to buy food from too. I don't want to always be feeding off Hinata and not giving anything back, you know."

Sakura shrugged. Her green eyes turned from Mazenta's plum ones to Nao and Cherushī. "I have to give these two cutie-pies to their mother. And then check on Naruto. And ask Shika, of course," the teenage doctor muttered to her. Shika hadn't come early, like he usually does, but Sakura knew not to expect much. It was a kiseki* if he even got out of bed. That, and he had just gotten home from a mission as well. Because of that, he hadn't and hasn't gotten to the hospital in time to take Nao to the daycare.

"I can wait."

* * *

Sui looked around the room. The sheets were made, the door almost but not quite closed, the picture frame haphazardly laid on the nightstand, and the linen closet door shut with a blanket peeking out of its corner—he had made sure it was impossible to notice he had been there. The only evidence was the towel in his arm, a green fluffy towel. No one would miss it. It was worn and battered; he figured Sakura would be glad it was gone, no matter how fluffy and soft it was. It was missing some patches in some places.

The only problem was that he would have to exit through the front door to not leave the window open. But people would see him that way. It was a toss-up. Suigetsu figured the window was best. Maybe she wouldn't remember closing it?

Going on that logic, the Hōzuki jumped out the open window, the strong wind he created blowing the window farther open.

He didn't put on the wig until he stopped on the Hokage mounting, thinking no one would have seen him.

Shikamaru rubbed at his eyes knowing he was late and that Naruto was too busy to help Sakura shop. He yawned and glared up at the clock's blinking lights. 3:45. Seikō. Sakura had to be home by now. He jumped from his bed and pulled his hair back into a messy ponytail. Elaborate hairdos were too troublesome.

The Nara pulled on his pants and vest and ran out the door. An angry Sakura was not a happy Sakura. He had seen that example on Uzumaki.

In mere minutes, he was in walking distance of her house. He slowed down to a pace, catching his breath before knocking on the door. And knocking harder. Sakura didn't open the door. He knocked again. Nothing. That meant she was checking on Naruto or with her oi.

Yawning and stretching, Shika walked back, looking at the sky above his friend's apartment. The sky was troublesome to look at, yet it had its advantages. Like seeing a lone bird fly across the sun gracefully.

Lone bird.

Birds didn't fly alone.

Why was the bird flying from rooftop to rooftop? And why the hell did it have _blue hair_?

Crap!

Troublesome invader ninja.

Shikamaru scurried to the Godaime's office.

* * *

**Nazukeoya—Godmother**

**Cherushī—Chelsea**

**Oba—aunt**

**Oi—nephew(s)**

**Kiseki—miracle**

**To answer _Mizuki-chan Uchiha_'s questions, I get my translations from Google Translate. (GOOGLE IS THE BOMB!) And for that other question…well, you'll just have to find out.**

**To clear things up, Nao and Cherushī are Sakura's godchildren and cousin of their mother as explained in _Chapter 4_.**

**Cherushī and Nao's dad is modeled after a "brother" (not really, just raised with him) of mine. Cherushī looks more like her dad. Of course they'd be half Puerto Rican! Heck yea! (That and because my brother's Puerto Rican like me!) He'll come in the next chapter, along with their mother.**

**R&R! Please!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Ok. I know the Japanese is not exactly the best when it's in a story. So far, two people have complained about it. I'm _not_ willing to delete it _completely_. I am, however, willing to compromise; like so:**

**The only Japanese will be names and cuss words. And they still will have the asterisks (*) and translations in at the bottom.**

**However, there is another choice for those, like me, who think the Japanese makes the story more original. I could just put the meaning of the words in parenthesis [(-)], which I don't like. So, I could put it in the brake line after every part of the chapter.**

**R&R! Enjoy!

* * *

**

Sasuke glared at the picture in his hand and leaned back in his chair. Why couldn't he stop watching the thing—appreciating the thing—rubbing his fingers over the faces—? Why couldn't his heart keep its pace when it watched the thing? Why couldn't his mind stop reminiscing in Sakura's smile, or Naruto's idiocy, or Kakashi's pride, or his own happiness? Because that was he was feeling in that picture, there was glee in his face, though it wasn't apparent to everyone.

His tanned, callused fingertips traced the little Sakura's long locks caringly, though he wanted with all his strength not to care. He wanted with all his strength to crush the 5 by 5 photograph in his fist and with it all cares for Team Seven. He wanted so much to leave behind his old life. His thumb traced his own face. That scowl he had held less bitterness. He didn't like it. It showed weakness. He wished so much that it would bother him enough to crush it. To rip it. To tear it to shreds.

But no, it was too hard to force his muscles to follow his will. It strained his muscles far too much.

He had saved it, though he still wondered why. He still wondered he hadn't thrown it out the second Suigetsu gave it to him. A small part of his brain whispered that he would only snatch it back up and saved it in his drawer. He warred with that part. It was the shred of humanity that he had perseveringly saved. He hoped it would go away soon.

Sasuke turned to the window, sunlight showering his shirtless body. Drops of shower-water sizzled slowly and warmly off his body. The tongues of fire rolling off the sun felt as if they were licking his skin instead of the sky. The sun gave the photo a halo of light. Sasuke glared at it. It was far too mesmerizing to reminisce in old memories. He didn't want to do it anymore. He had no regrets. But it was just too hard to put it away. Too hard to not watch it with what he considered "loving" eyes.

He hated it. Despised it. It was weakness. And he had to get rid of it. But he, Uchiha genius, just didn't know how.

* * *

Shikamaru watched Tsunade, attentively yet lazily like only he could. Her boozed eyes had turned clear and dutiful when the indolent ninja had stormed in. Right now, the godaime had her elbows on her desk, her fingers rubbing her temples.

"Are you sure that's what you saw?" the godaime wondered tiredly.

Arms at his side, the Nara nodded his head.

"Reiterate, please?" Tsunade sighed. She wanted to assure herself that she had heard right and that the beeping in her ears hadn't disturbed or warped the words.

Shikamaru sighed, "A ninja. He was jumping out of Sakura's window from rooftop to rooftop. He had something in his arms. He had blue hair—or so it looked from where I was. I doubt Sakura knows anything about it."

Godaime Tsunade groaned. Her shoulders heaved as she slumped into the palm of her hand. The buzz in her ears was long gone. "I was afraid of that," she said, her hazel eyes dimming. "Call in Sakura…"

Nara nodded respectfully, saying, "She's with the kids."

"Call. Her. In," Tsunade repeated, growling lowly.

* * *

Sakura and Mazenta walked side by side, as Naō ran ahead, Cherushī rolling after him. Efrain was out of work today, it being Friday, and wasn't in the office. The Puerto Rican had an odd name. Sakura was going to take the kids to him. Naō skidded to the front of the door of a wood-colored house, Cherushī stopping after him.

"Sakura," Mazenta asked, strolling to the house in pace with the kunoichi, "why do you love them so much?"

Sakura gave a small little smirk. Her jade eyes followed the two as they pounded on the door. "They're my godchildren. They're the children of my cousin. I'm raising them with her and her husband, Efrain. They're the only children with a mind clear of the name 'Uchiha Sasuke' or 'Uchiha Itachi.' " Mazenta blinked at hearing the names. Sakura's eyes turned to the black-haired teen, her face still staring strait ahead. "That's why I love them so much."

Karin didn't want to look at Sakura's truthful eyes. She feared that the truth could be read through the contacts. It would jeopardize the mission. The name and story of Uchiha Sasuke and Uchiha Itachi was a horror legend known far and wide. There was no need to ask of who they were. There was, however, one question that was needed to make her false innocence a wondrous, believable lie. In that respect, her bulged her eyes wide and dropped her jaw low. "You knew the Uchihas?"

The Haruno's eyes rolled back to the children, just yards out of earshot. "Yes. Uchiha Sasuke was in my team. Back when he was a good guy," Sakura sighed.

Mazenta watched the children. There was bitterness in her voice, pain, suffering—call it what you will, it was there. It was so obvious that she still felt betrayed after four years. She tried not to think about it. Now that the kids were in earshot, she let the subject go.

"Is papa home?" Sakura asked, her eyes brighter and her cheeks pinker. She knew how to mask pain.

Naō frowned. "I think Papi's sleeping," the boy growled. He tipped his head to the second story. "_Papi_," Naō shouted to a window. "Papa! _Papi!_ _Padre!_ Get up!"

Cherushī tugged on her brother's white t-shirt. "Naō, you'll wake up the whole neighborhood," she worried. Naō ignored her, shouted at the window, his little lungs running out of air.

Sakura's emerald orbs closed as she shook her head in amusement. She took a few steps closer and wrapped a hand around the redhead's mouth. The boy's muffled shout of 'padre,' the Spanish word for father, continued on. "Shush, Naō, shush. I got the key, baby," she told him. The vibrations of his mouth stopped as his saliva reentered his mouth. Sakura took a small golden key from her skirt's pocket and inserted it into the keyhole.

The door creaked open as the red-mahogany wood floor revealed itself. Cherushī rolled in, Naō running after her. The stairs rasped as Naō ran up them, leaving Cherushī behind. The girl yelled, "Wake _papi_ up!" Naō shouted back his alright.

Sakura waited at the doorway, Mazenta hesitating an inch behind. ShīShī spun over to the two teens, smiling. "Papi's a little sick, Oba. He'll be a little slow," she told them, her world little sounding like wittal.

Sakura smiled at the girl. "It's okay."

Naō game running down, his father holding his hand at his forehead. His almond eyes twitched at every pound of his son's feet. He ran his hands through his shaggy hair. The thick honey highlights, identical to Cherushī's, met his black hair at the roots. He gently took his last step to the ground, stretching with his hand in his hair. Naō waited for him and ShīShī smiled.

Sakura watched as her cousin-in-law's thin, tall, lean body went green at the skin. He was most defiantly sick. "Efrain," the teen greeted, "where's Kimani?"

Efrain groaned, "At the mall…"

"_Papi_, what's wrong?" Cherushī asked.

The man shook his daughter's hair and muttered, "Nothing, nothing. I'm just sick is all." He smiled at the girl and then at Sakura and Mazenta. "Thank you, Sakura-chan. I had a really big headache. I appreciate you taking them off my hands for a few hours."

The rosette shook her head in decline. "No thanks needed, Efrain. You know I love them."

Mazenta shifted her weight, feeling awkward as the two made polite chitchat. "Sakur— Ahh!" The black-haired girl jumped as a guy with a pineapple ponytail appeared before her in a puff of smoke. She put a hand to her chest as if trying to slow down her heart.

Sakura smiled at the ninja just as Efrain said his hello. "Shika, you've had me waiting for most of the afternoon!" The frown on his face didn't turn into an idle smile; instead, it deepened. Sakura frowned as her cousin leaned on the doorway. Her green eyes turned grave. "What happened? Is Naruto okay? Is Sasuke here?"

Karin knew Sasuke couldn't be in Kohona, but she gave a fake smile at the hope in Sakura's voice. Anyone could tell she was in love with him by the optimism in her tone. A smile is the thing a friend would do if a friend found her lost long love.

Shikamaru shook his head. Efrain's frown looked just as engraved into his skin as Shika's. "What happened?" he echoed.

Shika looked from Sakura to Efrain to the girl next to Sakura. "Trespassers," he growled, grabbing Sakura's arm and yanking her to him. They disappeared in smoke.

* * *

Sui tugged his wig into place, watching as birds flew by the sun. From the mountains, he looked down to the village. Men and woman scurried around the dirt streets. The drifting sound of laughter and shouting reached his ears.

He laughed at the irony. They didn't know how much danger they were in.

* * *

Tsunade rubbed her temples, trying to massage away the headache. The ninja was in Sakura's house. That made Sakura a suspect. She didn't like it. As Hokage, it was her job to take care of the villagers before all else. But this was the girl she thought of as a daughter. She didn't like to think that Sakura could be harboring trespassers, but she also knew it was a possibility. Her mind was at war with her heart. Her mind told her one thing, and her heart told her another. _It's possible,_ her mind shouted, and yet her heart said, _Sakura wouldn't betray us like that._

When the shinobi puffed into her office, the godaime sighed in relief. Sakura's wide jade eyes met with hectic hazel ones. "What happened?" she asked quickly, stepping forward.

Tsunade swallowed. Her eyes shifted from her to the papers piling on her desk then to her Sake and back. "Sakura," she said, "there has been sighting of a ninja running out of your house. Care to explain?"

Sakura gulped. "In my house?" she questioned. "Did he take anything?" Her mind shot strait to the Team Seven picture and her weapons. "Why was he in there? How'd he get in Kohona?" Her jaw was wide and she franticly blinked. "I honestly don't know anything, Tsunade-senpai."

The godaime bit her lip, knowing this felt wrong on so many levels, nevertheless still having to do it. "Do you mind…do you mind giving us a mind-reading of your mind?" She couldn't order her, Hokage or not. It wasn't in her, and it was against the law. A Hokage could only force people to go on missions and follow her decrees, and mind-reading was not a decree. People still had, and always will have, the sanctity of their minds. Sakura was free to refuse, though it would only strike up suspicions.

Sakura blinked. "Don't you trust me, senpai?"

Tsunade rubbed her sore temples. "Of course I trust you, Sakura!" she shouted. "But as Hokage, I have to do it!"

"Alright…" the rosette sighed.

Hokage Tsunade nodded and motioned Shikamaru over. "You can do this, correct?" Shika shrugged his shoulders and pulled his hands out of his pockets.

Shikamaru had advanced a technique of his, the Shadow Endgame Technique. Using the new method, which he liked to call "Shadow Reading," he could read the minds of anyone in his Shadows as if they were open books. The problem, however, was that it was at a frequency so loud; it hurt him to read more than one mind. It was a toss-up. Lucky for him, it was only one mind he had to read. It was a mind he knew like the back of his hand. He honestly doubted Sakura knew anything about the ninja, and it showed in her innocent eyes. He made the hand signals and a shadow stretched out, engulfing Sakura's feet in it. The silhouette traveled up as Sakura closed her eyes.

_I don't know…,_ was the phrase that was heard in her mind. Shikamaru turned the pages of the open book, watching Sakura's memories and thoughts. In front of his eyes flew the shape of Sakura's room, transparently, from an odd angle. Through her memories, he felt tears streaming down his face and a feeling, like a knife stuck in his stomach, flow through him. He turned another page, and he found himself in the Ichiraku Ramen Bar, laughing. He tried one more page of her mind. He found himself in the hospital, treating wounds.

The shadow retracted from Sakura to its master. Shika gave a lazy smile as Sakura blinked to life. His eyes shifted to Tsunade. "She doesn't know a thing; she didn't house anyone," he told her.

Tsunade breathed a sigh of relief. "Alright…"

Sakura watched as Shikamaru sighed out, "She does, however, know who the ninja was. And she doesn't particularly like him. If I told her what he looked like, she'd say Suigetsu Hōzuki of Kirigakure, Team Taka's swordsman—"

Sakura widened her eyes. "You mean, someone who has contact with Sasuke was here—in my house—and I didn't catch him?" she asked incredulously. "I'm such an idiot! I could've had him—he could be in our prison right now! We could've asked him about Sasuke! I should've known—"

"How the hell are you gonna know if you weren't in the house?" Tsunade inquired angrily. She didn't like how Sakura was beating herself up over something she had no control over.

Sakura blinked and swallowed.

"I thought so!" the godaime huffed. She turned to Shikamaru, the only witness. "Are you sure that's what you saw?"

The Nara bobbed his head.

"Dammit! I'm going to have to put everyone on double watch. The guards have to be at the gate now! Shikamaru, get the hell out and tell the retards that they're late! Goddamn! Sakura, get out! Guard the gate for a few minutes with the bozos! Ugh!" As the two did as told, Tsunade decided that she really hated war.

* * *

"Seikō, seikō, seikō," Karin cussed as she ran to where Suigetsu would, without a doubt, be. It was hard to run on mountain rock. The man's silhouette was just in earshot. "You baka!" she shouted. "They know we're here! They know!"

Sui tilted his head in question as Karin skidded to a stop next to him.

"You imbecile! You baka! You idiot! I thought you had your ID-10-T disease under control! Thanks to you, they know! They kuso know!"

"They know _what_?"

"They know we're here! They _know_! We have to hurry up before they suspect anything!"

Suigetsu's purple eyes growled at himself. He thought he was the smart one. Apparently, they were both just as dumb. It was a good thing he had mapped out a plan incase this happened. "Okay," he said, standing up, "here's what we're gonna do…"

Karin breathed in deeply as his plan started to make sense.

* * *

**There you go! I was on a roll! I think I made a pretty good chapter. R&R, alright?**

**I think I did good! And it's longer than the past two! **

**EEEEPPP!**


	7. Chapter 7

**The only Japanese will be names and cuss words. And they still will have the asterisks (*) and translations in at the bottom. If they're not here, they're in a previous chapter.**

**R&R! Enjoy!**

* * *

Sakura leaned against the green doors of the gate, waiting and watching for both intruders and the two jōnin. Shikamaru had to have scared them into appearing already. The guards may have been older than him, but definitely not as bitchy and quiet and just all around _scary_. A silent Shikamaru with bags under his eyes wasn't a sound sight.

Growling impatiently, Sakura tapped her foot on the dirt. She pursed her lips and crossed her arms, trying not to break a crater into the earth. She wanted to go home. She wanted to go to her apartment. She wanted to see and assess the damage herself. She wanted to see if the charka held that swordsman's signature.

But she couldn't. The Hokage wouldn't let her. Naruto was the one for impulsive decisions; she was the one that kept him in place. She was the responsible one. But! He had gone into her kuso house! _Her house!_ What kind of ninja— Forget the question. It was obvious what kind of ninja would invade a girl's privacy. But why her house of all houses? Why Suigetsu? Had Sasuke sent him? Why would he send someone to spy on her? Had it really been a ninja, or some trick of the eye? She needed to know!

Deeply breathing, Sakura hit her foot against the soil to a faster rhythm.

The sound of feet on the ground dragged Sakura out of her seething. She turned to the village, hoping to see the guards, instead finding a fuming Naruto running to her, lugging along a shocked-looking Mazenta and a blinking Jonasan. "Oh, when I see him, teme is _so_ getting his ass whooped!" the blonde shouted, stomping to a stop. Sakura smiled at his irate exclamation.

Straitening the messy strands of her hair, Mazenta asked, "Who's teme?" Her eyes were still focused on putting her spiky tresses back into her ponytail.

Jonasan shrugged for Naruto. "I figure it's the dude that got into Sakura-chan's house," he said.

Sakura watched Naruto's fist tightened. There was pain in his eyes. "Teme's _spying_ on you, Sakura-chan! He won't come back, but he's _spying_ on you! Shika said it was teme's friend, the blue-haired one! He doesn't know you well enough! Sasuke-teme had to be the one who sent him!" It was obvious he was outraged.

"Naruto—"

"What kind of baka spies on the girl he left? It's illogical!" Naruto continued.

"Naruto—"

Naruto stomped his foot. "He. Was. Spying. On. You!"

"_Naruto!_" Sakura shouted. "Check the house, see if he took anything, please," she begged. "See if my picture's still there."

The blonde's eyes widened. "You think he took the picture?" These words seemed to have more meaning to the two than to the twins. "He has one! I don't think he would be that cruel."

"I don't know, okay? I just want my picture. Bring it to me if he didn't take it. And check if weapons and my towel are still there."

Jonasan's eyes widened unnoticeably. He hoped she didn't mean the towel that he had in the closet…

Naruto nodded. "The green one you got with Sasuke?" Sakura bobbed her head. Naruto ran off, leaving the Orenji staring at Sakura with blinking eyes. _Hadn't the blonde been there, like, half a second ago,_ they wondered together, with an eeriness that would have had anyone thinking they were true twins had they said it aloud.

Jonasan smiled at Sakura's anger awkwardly, giving a soft, discomfited laugh. "Uh…sorry about the intruder…?" he said, trying to fill in the silence, ending in a question.

"Ugh…" Sakura ran her hands through her loose hair. Her chest heaved angrily in tune with her irritated thoughts. It wasn't, though, Jonasan's fault that Sasuke's ninja had been right underneath her nose. "Oi, I'm sorry, Jonah…I didn't mean to be so rude. It's just…he was _so_ close, and I didn't even notice!" She cupped her hands around her nose, closing her eyes to bring down her temper. How covering her nose did anything, she didn't know, but it worked.

Jonasan gave a weak laugh. "Yeah…funny how things work…"

Sakura opened her eyes and watched Jonasan's bronze hair. Mazenta bit the inside of her cheek before saying, "After this horrible news, I'm not letting you go out to shop. We can go to that ramen shop. And then tomorrow we can go shopping."

"Yeah…" Sakura muttered. "Hey, what time is it?"

Jonasan looked at the sun. "'Round five. Why?"

"Seikō," Sakura growled. "I have to wake up Kakashi-sensei. If those kuso guards don't get here in the next second, I am going to scream." Her head turned towards the leaves, rustling in the wind. She twisted her neck, trying to see past the trees. There was nothing more than a leaf falling to the ground.

"Somebody's pent up," Mazenta teased.

Sakura's head twisted back to the black-haired girl, her pink hair flowing behind her and landing on her neck. "Pent up? Of course I'm pent up, Maze! Hōzuki Suigetsu got in Kohona! Don't you know that it means that every one in this village could be in danger! It means someone more precarious could sneak past us! Like Jūgo, or maybe even Sasuke himself! Do you know what that _means_? It means we could officially restart a Ninja War! I don't want to end up the one to kill him! Because that'll happen! He'll be so focused on taking out Neji, and Shika, and Kakashi, and Naruto that I won't be such a big deal! And it'll fall on _my_ shoulders to kill Sasuke and murder what is left of the Uchiha Clan! And I don't want to _do_ that! So yes! I am 'pent up'!"

Jonasan sighed. "That's something to say to a edgy ninja, Mazenta. Way to go. You just pissed her off."

Sakura sighed. "I am sorry for how I said it. I didn't mean to take it out on you. I meant to take it out on Sai."

Mazenta laughed. Apparently, all was forgiven and forgotten. "The belly-shirt guy? I would want to get let off some steam on him… He's so…creepy."

"No, no. He's really…well—he's Sai… He doesn't have that thing in the back of his head screaming, _'don't piss her off,_' " Sakura laughed, her eyes back on the forest.

Jonasan got a slap to the back of his head by Mazenta and he rubbed at it. "Neither does this one."

Sakura laughed.

"Sakura—your towel's missing!" Naruto shouted, appearing out of nowhere.

The rosette's emerald eyes turned frantic, hysterical. "Tawagato*! Why the jigoku would a nukenin want my kuso towel? _My towel_!"

Naruto shrugged, his hands in his black pants. "I don't know, Sakura-chan. I checked the laundry room, the linen closet, and the bathroom—nothing. Suigetsu took it, I guess. Unless…did you lose it?"

"No, I used it this morning…"

The image of Sakura's pale skin, covered in the fluffy towel he had in his room, layered Jonasan's mind. The small and large holes showed more skin than modest, he imagined. He shoved his hands into his sweatpants.

The Haruno wondered what kind of pervert would take a towel from a girl's house. It made no sense. Sakura pressed a hand to her forehead and sighed. She had had it. Those guards were going to get here and they were going to get here now. She wanted to see if her house was okay and she needed to wake Kakashi.

"Kano*, Taro*!" she shouted, her livid voice echoing, adding the needed affect.

* * *

Kano snickered. Haruno Sakura was stuck doing their job while he and Taro got drunk. Too bad they weren't even boozed over; they were still somber as what. Why they had applied for that job, he'll never remember. Oh! Right! To get away from the wives! Nara Shikamaru had long ago called for them to report. But the sucker was in the bathroom, making a tawagato. That dude took forever. Kano was sure they could hide for a bit, to make the ninja think they had gone to work.

Taro smiled at the girl two bar seats away from him and ordered both her and himself a drink. Screw the wife—it wasn't like she could do anything to him. He was the ninja, not her!

"Kano, Taro!"

Crows flew from the trees outside, fearful of the sound they knew so well. When Sakura called out names, it meant someone was getting a beat-down, and whoever and whatever didn't move out of the way was going to get second-hand whoop-ass.

Taro dropped his cup and ran out the door with fearful eyes, having witnessed a Sakura-quality assault before. He didn't want to be the one receiving the punches. Whether Kano wanted to be or not was his problem.

"Taro! You afraid of some girl?" Kano shouted, his voice mocking.

"Seikō yeah!"

* * *

Karin watched as Sakura's anger rose. She grabbed Suigetsu's wrist and pulled him aside. "When do we start," she hissed. "I want to get out of here. The more I look at the mesu* the more I feel bad for her. I told you not to touch anything!"

"You did not!" Suigetsu whispered back. "You told me to grab a towel! Besides, you don't tell me what to do!"

"Shut up, stupid!" Karin murmured. "I specifically remember telling you, '_Don't touch anything_.' "

"You told me to grab a towel after that, Your Hideousness," Suigetsu retorted. If she was going to act the royalty, he figured he might as well go along with it…disrespectfully, of course.

"Ugh… I'd slap you right now, but you'd turn into water!" Karin whisper-shouted.

"That's right, Your Dreadfulness, so don't even try."

"I hate you so much!" Karin muttered, taking a deep breath. "When do we start?"

Suigetsu ran a hand through the itchiness that was his wig. His wig had a hairstyle much like Sai's. "Right now, actually, we just have to wait until Naruto's sent to do something." Sui stood up strait, tired of being hunched over to whisper to Karin. Nonchalantly, he strolled over to where the panicking girl and the worried boy stood chatting.

"Hey, Naruto," Sui said, "dude, can you get us some ramen? I don't know where the place is and Maze's hungry. You _don't_ want to know how she is when she's hungry. I'll pay?"

"Aw, jigoku yeah! Two bowls for you two—dried cuttlefish, and shrimp, right?"

"Naw, I'm not hungry. But yeah, a shrimp for her," Suigetsu gave a close-lip smile, afraid to show his teeth. His sharp, shark teeth would give them away no doubt. Karin was leaning against the green door, glaring at her stomach for added effect. He pulled out the ryō Sasuke had given them and offered it to Naruto. "I'll pay for your _first_ bowel and Sakura's…what is it you want Sakura?"

"I'm not hungry…" the rosette muttered, scowling at the foot-sized hole she was still digging at.

"Sakura-chan, you have to eat," Suigetsu told her.

"If I ate every time I was upset, I'd be as fat as Chōji…"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "How about if I get her some chicken soup…" Naruto put a hand to cover his mouth and muttered to Jonasan, "I think she's on those days…"

"I can _hear_ you, Naruto! Whispering is not your forte!" Sakura growled, punching Naruto into the dirt road. "You're lucky I have to stand guard!"

Suigetsu laughed. It was so funny when it happened to someone else. His purple eyes stoned as he went back to business. "Sakura, I need to ask you something…"

Glaring at the blonde ninja, who was about to turn a corner and buy ramen for the Orenji, Sakura sighed, "What is it?"

"Me and Mazenta…" He watched Sakura, trying to figure out how to word it. "We have a brother… He stayed in Takigakure. This morning, he sent a letter to…wherever he sent a letter because I honestly don't know how he knew to find us—and anyway, it was given to us and he wants to come here. The problem is, though, he doesn't know how to get here. We took the last map Dad had to come here… I would get lost if I tried to help… Mazenta and I were hoping that maybe you could come with us. We figure you know the landscape and whatnot."

Sakura smiled. If she could get a family together, even if it wasn't her own, she'd do it in a flash. "I'd love to. But why didn't you ask Naruto, Jonah?"

Sui bit his lip, trying to figure out the answer. "Naruto…" he muttered, running through the few things he knew about the blonde. "Naruto's…childish?"

"Little bit. It's my week off, and I can work something out with Rizu, so I can go."

Jonasan smiled.

"Miss—Miss Haruno!" some guy with black hair stuttered. "Miss Haruno I'm here!"

Sakura gave an evil grin and walked into the village, pulling Mazenta and Jonasan with her.

* * *

Green eyes narrowed as she watched the lazy teacher on his bed. So maybe he had had a long mission—it wasn't like it was longer than hers. They had been on the same mission! She fisted her hands and put them on her hips, whispering menacingly, "Sensei… It's five fifty…."

At the sound of the voice, Kakashi's eyes slipped open. His facemask was on the bedside table along with his book and forehead protector. The red of his Sharingan contrasted sharply with the black of his eye and the vertical pinkish scar.

Sleepily, he looked up at the figure that had woken him. And he yelped in fear. In the dark room, where the only light came from the crack underneath the door, Sakura had a halo of blackness, her features nothing but a black abyss.

"Jeez, sensei. You'd think I was the devil," she laughed. She loosened her fists and rested her palms on her hips. "Come on, I woke you up. If you go back to sleep it's not my fault. I did my part."

Kakashi sighed and sat up. "I really hate housing your dad," he told her.

"Yeah, but you promised. And my part of the deal is done. The miso soup is in the kitchen," Sakura sighed, walking out the room. The light of the hallway entered the room and Kakashi shielded his eyes as if he were a vampire.

Sakura closed the door behind her, walking to the living room where her redhead dad ate up his part of the miso soup. She sat on the sofa next to him. Her green eyes watched as he slurped it down. "Someone broke into my house…" she told him.

The man swallowed and looked at Sakura. He shook his head as he took her in once more. The only thing she had inherited from his side was the forehead and the pink hair. Pink was, after all, a watered down version of red. "That's what happens when you're a girl taking on more than you can chew. And when you don't have a husband," he said.

"Dad… I'm sixteen, I don't need a husband."

The redhead picked up his spoon and slurped up a potato. "That's when your mother and I got married," he shrugged. "How about that Naruto boy? He still going after you? It would be smart to court him. Who knows—perhaps he'll become your fiancé."

"Dad! I won't ever get married! Just because you and Mom broke up doesn't mean I have to get married! What kind of father does that?"

"Don't question me like that!"

"I'll do whatever the jigoku I like! You can't hit me anymore! You'd be put in prison for touching a ninja!"

The man's blue eyes narrowed. He dropped his spoon and stood up from the sofa, looking down at his daughter. "Are you threatening me, young lady?" he questioned, cracking his knuckles.

Sakura stood up, still standing two heads shorter than her massive father. "I'm not afraid of you! _You_ should be afraid of _me_! I can put you in jail for child abuse! I haven't done it because I love you!" Her green eyes flared as if a fire had ignited behind them.

The silversmith's big hand struck Sakura across the face. Sakura's hands flew to her cheek, tears flowing down it like a speeding waterfall. "Dad!" she complained, her voice cracking. "You're going to jail. I won't let you hit me anymore, Dad!" Sakura ran out the door, the hand cupping her cheek glowing green.

* * *

Suigetsu laughed as he searched for the scroll in which he had hidden his kubikiribōchō. "She didn't even mention you!"

"Shut up!"

"She said, and I quote, 'someone more dangerous could get in, like Jūgo or even Sasuke himself, never in there did the name Karin come in! Ha!"

"Shut up, idiot! She just thought I wasn't in the team anymore!" Karin ordered, brushing down her wig on its stand.

Suigetsu cackled again, putting the scroll he had found into his pocket. "She knows your still in the team! What kind of idiot would think that you would leave Sasuke—you, fangirl Karin! She just thought you _weren't_ dangerous!"

"I'm about to cut you with your own kuso sword!"

Between snickers, Sui managed to say, "That…that wouldn't be very…smart! You'd have…have a bunch of…of water to…to explain to the maids!"

"Kami! Just get thing ready!"

"You know," Suigetsu sighed, his laughing fit over and done with, "it was really stupid of you to hit my head. I could've instinctively turned to water." He grabbed his wig from its stand and hid his silver-blue hair.

"You're not that stupid."

"Didn't you just say I was?"

"Shut up!"

* * *

Tears were still streaming down her face, though the shape of her father's hand was long gone. The sting was still there, burning another hole into her nonexistent heart. She had gathered Naruto, who was sitting idly with Hinata and Neji at the shop, and was now in the office, trailed by the three.

Hinata tried comforting Sakura as she told what had happened for the rosette. The Haruno was in too bad a shape to use actual words.

Tsunade didn't even need to hear the explanation. She already had the papers in order, waiting for Sakura to give the go. Without question, she signed the papers, only needing the story as a formal background. Sakura had put herself together in time to sign the victim papers. She had also told the Hokage, with a cracking voice, that she would be leaving the village for the next few days with Mazenta and Jonasan.

Leaving the tower, Sakura sighed, trying to control her tear-ducts. "I'm okay…I think," she muttered. Neji sighed in relief, echoed by Naruto and Hinata.

"You scared the tawagato out of me, Sakura! If that happens again, which it won't, you tell me!" Naruto shouted. "I'll beat seikō out of him! And I'm sure everyone else would too!"

Neji and Hinata nodded in agreement.

They walked her to the apartments, saying a short goodbye before Sakura ran to her house and packed her things. She needed this. She needed to leave Kohona for a few days; she needed the short vacation.

When she appeared at the Hyūga's place, her things in a backpack and a smile on her face, no one questioned anything.

* * *

**Tawagato—shit**

**Kano—The god of waters**

**Taro—the firstborn son**

**Mesu—bitch**

**I got the names off:**

**http : / / www . momswhothink . com /**

**You should totally read this story by KillerMay. It was a tribute to this story, which makes me happy! (No need to add that we made it up together…) Here's the link:**

**http : / / www . fanfiction . net / s / 6677059 / 1 / How_To_Fail_a_Kidnapping**

**Review there and review here! **


	8. Chapter 8

**Thirty reviews for just seven chapters? G to the effing A.S.P! It took me eleven chapters in my last story to get to fifty! Fifty isn't that much… BUT 30 FOR 7? Not that I'm complaining, I'm just…in shock! You guys are awesome!**

**Shout-out to my first reviewer who disserves lots and lots of love, orochimaruninjafan. I made a mistake in the writing, and (s)he was kind enough to let me fix it before anyone else noticed. Let's not forget my awesome friend, KillerMay (who's story you should read), my tenth reviewer (who I have turned into a SasuSaku _lover_) Hatsune-chan, WhiteRose95 for her _awesome_ long reviews (which make me feel loved), and everyone else who loves this story! I love you all!**

**The only Japanese will be names and cuss words. And they still will have the asterisks (*) and translations in at the bottom. If they're not here, they're in a previous chapter.**

**R&R! Enjoy!**

* * *

Sakura looked at the brunette maid, smiling. It was a relief to leave the village for a few days. To leave the horrid memories, the haunting missions, and her father behind in Kohona for just a little bit. She wasn't running away from them, she wasn't leaving them for evil. She would never do that. She was just helping a few friends.

"Mistress Haruno—"

The warmth in Sakura's voice radiated around the greeting room as she put a hand up to stop her and said, "No need to take me there. Just tell me where it is. I'm sure you have more important things to do."

The chambermaid nodded and gave her the directions quickly before hurrying along to the kitchen. Master Neji had ordered her to make a filling meal for their departing quests and their dear medic. He was quite gentle, but she had heard stories of him when he angered. It was not a sight she was in any hurry to see. In fact, she would be quite pleased to never see it.

Sakura walked along the labyrinth of halls watching for the one with a closed door and fighting voices like the girl had said. She wasn't surprised that they would be fighting—they were, after all, twins. Twins fought. Twins were siblings, same age or not.

The rosette took to gawking at the hallways. She had been to Sasuke's house millions of times—rather, his old house. It was small and smelled of blood before she had taken up the job of cleaning it for him in the hopes that should he come back, he would come back to a house clean of rebounding memories. She had also been to the Konoha Military Police offices. It was really just one big mansion at the tip of the Uchiha Sector in the village. It was plainly decorated, however.

But the Hyūga Mansion would be insulted if you called even the toilet paper plain! The colors were so clear and so milky that the house had an aura of peace and calmness. It was decorated with whites and lavenders and blues, diamonds and jewels, gold and silver! The list went on, but it was done in such a fashionable way that it wasn't gaudy. Sakura suddenly wished she came from a rich clan.

Walking upon the closed door, Sakura checked her thigh for her senbon and kunai, and then her waist for the tantō she hardly ever had use for and hardly ever brought anyplace. The click-clack of sandals on the wooden floor opened the door for her. She didn't have to knock before Mazenta was at the door, a big grin on her face.

"Sakura!" she shouted.

"Maze, hi," said Sakura. "Are you ready?"

Maze's short spiky hair was let loose, framing her peach-skin face. It was a sharp contrast, one that made her Maze, in Sakura's mind. Mazenta was slightly taller than her, by about one centimeter. It wasn't much, but it still made Sakura feel like a midget. "Yeah, but Jonasan wants you to read the letter we got," Maze said in that halfway-bitter, halfway-sweet voice of hers. She stepped aside.

"Okay," Sakura stepped in. The lavender walls had nothing but a large window on them.

Jonasan was bent over the white writing desk, his tall frame hunched because of it. A finger of his ran over what looked like a paper, and his other hand kept him up. Sakura poked his shoulder and he jumped, apparently engrossed in what he had been reading. "Sakura, you shiri!" he shouted.

Sakura gave a halfhearted smile. "In Naruto's famous words, _believe it_! What was it you wanted me to read?" she questioned. Jonah moved over and motioned to the page. Sakura stared at it, reading it.

_Maze, Jonī,_

_I'm alone and I'm board. I need my siblings back. I know Takigakure is in financial problems, and I wouldn't ever ask you to come back. It's better in Konohagakure. Jonī, you need to come get me. That is, if you didn't lose the map already. If you did, get some local to help you out. I know you aren't the most sociable of people, but I'm sure Mazenta made some friends for the both of you in the past day. I'll be waiting. I sent this note to Konoha with your names on the letter because I have no idea where you live. I don't know who'll give this to you. I love you idiots._

_Your amazing older brother,_

_Kisho_*

Sakura laughed, "Well, isn't Kisho nice! And modest!"

Jonasan shrugged. "We're Orenji. We're all modest."

"Why'd you want me to read it?" the rosette asked, her eyebrows knitting together.

"Reference's sake," the bronze-haired boy muttered, shrugging it off. He grabbed a windbreaker from the peg of one of the two beds and draped it over his shoulders. "Should we bring food?" he asked, his tone thoughtful.

"Pass me mine?" Mazenta asked, wrapping her arms around herself.

"Nope."

Mazenta growled and grabbed it herself.

Sakura gently folded the parchment, careful with flaking bits of ink. It takes at least half a day for mail to be taken from Taki to Konoha, and that's not adding the half-day it takes the messenger to get there. The note must've reached them early this morning. "Nope. I'm going to teach you to hunt."

"Oh, Kami, gross!" Mazenta shouted out. "I hate blood!"

"Don't worry. There's nothing bloody about it," Sakura assured. Her green eyes stoned as she talked, taking on a businesslike tone. Almost as if this was another mission to her. Sakura didn't want it to be like that, but she didn't know how else to talk when she talked about going to another village. As she spoke, she decided this would be more laid-back. "Kakashi-sensei taught Team Seven to hunt. I'll teach you the easy way. Let's go. Takigakure's northward. The sound is northward too. We'll have to be _extremely_ careful. Neither one of you is leaving my side. You got that? I absolutely _refuse_ to lose another one to Otogakure."

"Yes, ma'am," Jonasan said, his voice both mocking and obeying. Sakura wondered how he managed that.

"Mhmm, Sakura," Mazenta echoed.

Sakura nodded and jumped out the first-story window. "Come on! It isn't that high—three feet at the most! You're both taller than that!"

* * *

Suigetsu had to say, he was thoroughly impressed when Sakura came into the room, her eyes serious and her walk deadly. He had seen her before in her gear, yesterday when they met. Her hair had been a mess, her eyes tiered, her shoulders slumping—she had been an array of chaotic things put together. But today, she was fresh and ready, not ripe and ready for bed. Her hair was loose and livid, her eyes strong and deadly, her shoulders square and powerful. Her walk made even stones leave way for her. Her eyes were as fatal as Medusa's. The tantō at her waist was sharp. She was fierce, like a lioness.

That was the only comparison he could make. Her walk, her eyes…even her smell was feline. But she was so easily fooled. If a lion told the lioness he would protect her cubs, whether or not he was the father, she would believe. Because she was female, and nothing could change that.

But that look in her eyes when she ordered them to stay near her… It was toxic. She had said she refused to lose another to Oto. Had she been referring to Sasuke or to someone else?

Suigetsu couldn't help but wonder what happened to make Sakura so brutal. The girl in the picture didn't look ferocious. The girl, he remembered, looked too innocent to hurt a fly. Too happy to speak in the way that she did, as if she had already taken them under her wing.

He sighed, watching Sakura's short locks swing before him as she walked ahead, telling Karin about this store or that restaurant. He stuffed his hands in the loose gray pants he was forced to wear. He couldn't wait to get back into the comfortable blue ones of his that didn't make him feel like his "little friend" was depressed. Jeez, what villagers wore!

"Umph!" Sui gasped, running into Sakura's back. The short little girl had a strong back.

Sakura didn't seem to notice, staring at a bench they had come across. There was a glassy look in her eyes, as if she was looking at it from inside a window. Her voice was dead, as if she was talking as some kind of voiceover, "He left me there. He left my eyes wet and my nose stuffy. I guess I should be grateful…he didn't leave me on the ground. He could have left me on the ground. He thanked me though. I don't know for what, but he did…"

"Sakura-chan, who are you talking about?" Suigetsu worried. Karin just stared at her, trying to appear unconcerned to Sui while still appearing to fret. She wasn't doing a very good job. She looked congested.

The rosette took a deep breath. "Nothing. No one. Forget it. It was nothing, Jonah."

Suigetsu nodded, saying under his breath, "Kisho's waiting." People were staring, wondering what the poor bench had done to earn Sakura's misty disapproval.

"Right, right. Come on. There's a long way to go. You guys will want to rest for a while, so it'll take around three days," Sakura told them, willing her legs to walk forward. Suigetsu and Karin followed, knowing what Sakura was about to tell them but listening anyway to convey their innocence. "Around the first day, the sound ninja'll be coming to get us. You'll hide and I'll fight, got it?"

"Sakura, I want to—"

Sakura dismissed the thought with a wave of her hand. "Yeah, yeah, typical guy. You don't want to leave me, a 'defenseless little girl,' to fight the 'big, strong, Sound ninja'—too bad. I know how to take care of myself and ten more!" she laughed. Suigetsu snickered at the irony. The two she was protecting were going to kidnap her. "Come on. We can do five hours!"

* * *

Sakura watched the poor, defenseless deer from atop a tree, her stance in a crouch. The only one who wanted to hunt was Jonasan. Mazenta had shouted and screamed about not liking blood, scaring away the few game there was. The two were faster at walking then Sakura had thought, and now were in the exact middle of the Konoha forest before Jonah and Maze started getting hungry. Sakura wasn't exactly hungry, but she wasn't full either. So she had relented. It was, after all, eleven at night.

Still, Mazenta kicked and bawled about something that Leonardo da Vinci said concerning valuing life. Sakura wasn't leaving her alone, so she gagged her and dragged her along. What else was a girl to do?

Her emerald orbs watched the deer as it grazed the grass. She was like a predator. Her grip on the kunai tightened. "Wait until he's off guard," she whispered. "Watch…" The buck's head turned to the left and to the right. "He's got fawns and a doe behind him… He's protecting them." Mazenta squeaked. "Shush! The doe will take care of the fawns; don't worry about it, Maze!" There was a pause before Sakura looked back to the deer. "Look at that…he's eating calmly." Her pale hand moved a fraction of an inch, and the kunai raced forward and down, hitting the buck in the neck.

The doe and fawns ran out of the bushes, franticly yelping. Sakura watched them leave, waiting until the sound of their hooves died away. She jumped off the tree, watching as Jonasan helped Mazenta. They weren't up very high. Maybe six, seven feet up into the tree. Something five-year-olds do in their sleep.

Jonasan stared at the carcass in awe. There was no blood. "It's a clean shot…" he awed.

"Yup," Sakura said, strolling over to the body and pulling out the knife. She watched as blood oozed out of its neck and into the grass. The body bucked. "Do you want to kill it?"

"No, no, I'm good! You go ahead and feed us!"

Sakura went on, cooking the animal, her eyes sad. She had taken another life. One to the many she already had. She remembered something her mother used to say, wherever she may be now, _"We live to die…we live to kill…revenge…hopeless dreams…meaningless friendships… Ninjas are tools for killing…"_

She had hoped to prove her wrong. But, in the end, that was the true way of the shinobi.

* * *

Karin watched as Sakura picked at her food. Her eyes were as bright as that of a carcass. She was lifeless. The girl stood up, walked to her tent, and sighed. Karin watched after her, trying not to worry. The girl was nothing but a mission, right? She meant nothing. Karin wasn't supposed to actually befriend her. She was supposed to pretend. She wasn't supposed to worry when she didn't eat.

"Good night," Sakura called to them. "When you go to sleep wake me up. I got guard to keep."

Suigetsu sighed and scooted over to Karin, scratching his wig. "We're a day away from Oto at the rate we're going. I need to tell Sasuke we're taking her now. We're going to wait until she falls asleep and then I'm leaving. She looks like a light sleeper. Be quite when I'm gone, Mistress Repelling. Sasuke'll tell me where to take her," he whispered.

"Look who's talking, you yarō*!" Karin hissed.

"I know you are but what am I?" Sui sang. Karin's red eyes glared through the purple contacts. "If I get back soon enough, we'll have her in Sasuke's hands by midday."

Karin nodded, her glare unrelenting. Suigetsu stole a peek back at the tent in which Sakura was fussing. "Don't you even think about it, you pervert!" the secret redhead jeered.

Suigetsu's eyes stayed glued to the tent. "I'm worried about her, retard! She didn't eat."

"You don't worry when I don't eat…" Karin muttered, a bit jealous.

Suigetsu's head turned to Karin. He pinched her cheek and grinned, his teeth exposed to the world. "Oh, don't you worry, _Mazenta-chan_," he cooed, making a face, "I love you too."

Karin slapped away his hand. "Yarō," she muttered under her breath.

"And don't you forget it. I think she's asleep. Pease out!"

* * *

Sasuke glared at the window. It was twelve at night. He was supposed to be here. Sasuke gritted his teeth in frustration. The only excuse for him not to come would be if he was badly injured. Alright, Sasuke thought, that wasn't a good enough excuse. He had to be dead and mauled not to come. That was the only excuse. He was on a kuso mission as a _villager_. Villagers don't get hurt.

He impatiently tapped his foot on the wood floor. It was a habit he had picked up from someone—he didn't remember who—when he was little.

"Sakura does that!"

Right. That's where he got it. "Suigetsu! You're late," Sasuke scolded in that monotone of his.

"Sorry bossman. I just thought you might what to know that we have Sakura on the way is all…" Suigetsu muttered, pulling off his wig and hoping into the room.

Sasuke's black eyes turned deadly. If Suigetsu was lying, he would pay for it in full. "You got here. Why didn't she?"

"Uh, maybe because she's come willingly and if we bring her here so quickly she might resist?"

She came willingly? That wasn't the Sakura he knew. The Sakura he knew would fight with all she had. That wasn't like her. Sasuke's eyes creased noticeably. She didn't fight? Fangirl or not, this was Sakura. Sakura kicked and screamed and shouted…

"We lied to her," Suigetsu explained, watching Sasuke's facial muscles twitch into a worried frown. It was the first time Suigetsu had ever seen Sasuke _worry_. He thought the Uchiha had lost that part of his brain.

Sasuke nodded. "I'm coming with you," he said, grabbing a kunai and jumping out the window.

* * *

Leaves rustled. Sakura woke and sat, her back erect. She reached around for a kunai, only to find none. Instead, she felt a boot. It was much too dark to see anything. It was a man's boot. Had Jonasan brought other shoes? "Jonah…" Sakura muttered, hope knitting into her voice.

"No."

Sakura's eyes widened. The terror helped her eyes adjust. She could see the trees outside as she turned her head to the voice. There were others. She knew them by their faces. Karin and Suigetsu. She knew who had spoken. She just didn't want to accept it until she saw his face. "S…Sasuke…" she said when she saw his red eyes braking through the black.

"Yes."

* * *

**Kisho—one who knows his own mind**

**http : / / sasusakuzutara . deviantart . com / favourites / 38994704 ? offset = 72 # / d162fn2 —this is were I got the quote. I love this one.**

**Yarō—asshole**


	9. Chapter 9

**The only Japanese will be names and cuss words. And they still will have the asterisks (*) and translations in at the bottom. If they're not here, they're in a previous chapter.**

**And to mednin: Please forgive my sin, mistress/master.**

**READ THIS:**

**http : / / www . fanfiction . net / s / 6677059 / 1 / How _ To _ Fail _ a_ Kidnapping**

**R&R! Enjoy! **

* * *

Sakura blinked once. Twice. Thrice. She just hoped they would either disappear and she could go back to sleep, knowing it was just a dream, or become shorter. Back to the four feet and eleven inches that he was before he when to Orochimaru. Back when those bloodred eyes meant safety and protection, not death and destruction. But no matter how many times she blinked, those eyes would not leave and their height would not shorten.

She swallowed and crossed her legs, eager to make the most out of this visit and to appear unfazed. "What are you doing here?" the rosette asked, narrowly escaping the crack in her voice. "Visiting an old friend?"

"Hn…" Sasuke's red eyes narrowed. "Talking was always your strong point, wasn't it, Sa_ku_ra?"

Sakura bit her lip. He remembered how it melted her when he said her name like that. He remembered because he always tried not to say it like that. Blood flowed down her chin as she looked up at the Uchiha. She let go of her lip, sure she wasn't going to moan now, and licked the blood off her chin. "No, Sasuke. It's always been…" She looked down at her hand and how it now glowed green near were her weapons used to be and Sasuke's boot was. "Charka control." She dug her fingers into the packed dirt.

Sasuke snorted, even though he knew it was true. He didn't think that the little girl, now sitting at his feet with her eyes on the ground and her sleeping bag tight around her legs, could do much with a glowing fist. It wasn't like she was strong.

"What are you doing here?" she asked again. "Naruto could be in the other tent."

"There are three tents."

"Shikamaru could've come. You should remember how he doesn't like to share."

Sasuke grunted. He had to admit she was good. He did remember how Naruto didn't snore on missions and how he kept his charka down. He also remembered how the Nara loved his privacy. If he didn't have the inhabitants of the two tents, he would honestly think that the two were in their tents, sleeping soundly. Sasuke watched as the girl's viridian eyes watched her fist. "But he didn't," spit Sasuke.

Sakura pushed her hand down into the ground, palm down, and grabbed at the loose dirt. "How do you know? Did you check their tents, Uchiha? I thought only a sensei had the permission to do that," she answered, her voice calm. She lifted her head to look at his red eyes.

"Because I have the inhabitants of the tents watching you quiver at my feet."

Sakura's eyes became slits as she glared at him. Her fist tightened under the ground. "What did you do to Jonah and Maze, you yarō?"

Sasuke snickered. "Get up."

Sakura growled. "I'm not your slave, Sasuke! You used to hate people who treated women like slaves! Hypocrite!"

"Things change," Sasuke laughed. It was a bitter, cackling sound. The sound laughing hyenas make. The sound that would send waves of shivers down anyone's back. It wasn't a long sound, just a short noise, but it had the same effect.

Sakura glared, growling like a lioness. She flipped over the ground he was standing on. Sasuke moved out of the way. Sakura jumped up, slamming into Suigetsu's back. They were too close. The walls were closing in. The heat was getting to be too much. Her muscles tensed. Suigetsu's arms wrapped around her waist, trapping her, encasing her in some type of keeper that had no air. She couldn't breathe. Her eyes were wide, staring at the Uchiha, who had never once faltered in his glare.

Sakura thrashed around in the teen's strong arms, grunting. He wouldn't let go. Sakura twitched and kicked her leg back—including as much force as she could with as little room as she had—right into his nuts. The swordsman's arms flew off her, strait to his balls.

"Omph! Sakura!" God, that hurt like _hell_!

Sakura ran out the tent, free at last. Her eyes darted from one tree to another, examining her surroundings in just milliseconds. She was only half a day away from Konoha, but it was hard enough to go slowly, let alone with someone on her tail. Kusagakure was closer—half an hour at most.

Charka stinging her legs, Sakura darted forward, before Team Taka had the time to even run out the makeshift shelter. Green rushed past her, wind cutting at her arms, loose branches slicing her legs. Apprehension slowed her reaction time, and she wasn't able to jump out of the way in time. She was a ninja…a killing device…if it weren't for the fact that it was Sasuke—_Sasuke_—chasing her, she wouldn't be uneasy, she wouldn't be looking back, she wouldn't be breathing hard, she wouldn't be ramming head-first into every other tree to cross her way. If it weren't Sasuke, she wouldn't be running away.

"Seikō chikushō!" Sakura shouted, running into the third tree. She hadn't even gone one mile! Her record was ten miles per minute! This was ridiculous!

A deep chuckle came from behind her. Leaves crunched before her. Karin and Suigetsu appeared. Sakura looked at them, really looked at them. Sakura knew that peach skin. She knew those purple eyes. She knew the shape of those arms and she knew the shape of that jaw. How could she have been so stupid? She turned around to face Sasuke.

"We turned into a little potty mouth, haven't we?"

He was leaning on a tree, his face the epitome of calm. The black, sleeveless top's collar was falling open, revealing to Sakura Sasuke's chiseled chest. The moonlight was dim, but if they weren't under the canopy of the forest, he'd be outlined with a sheen of sweat. Uchiha or not, Sakura was decently fast. Not fast enough to get him panting, but decent.

Sakura looked up to the braches. They were high, but jumpable. "It happens," she answered.

Sasuke nodded to Suigetsu. "So I've noticed."

Sakura's neck turned up, looking for a branch low enough. The night was dark, and the closeness of the trees wasn't helping. Owls hooted. A blade closed in on her outstretched neck. Sakura swallowed. "I don't want to do this, Sakura," Sasuke smirked. It was true; he didn't want to kill her. He _wouldn't_ kill her. He needed her. She was an important pawn in his game of revenge. He would just scare her into coming willingly.

Suigetsu's mouth came to her ear. "I don't either, Sakura. Don't make it harder than it has to be," he warned. Sakura gulped. She had been in love with the man ordering her death. She _was_ in love with the man ordering her death. She didn't think the sharp end of a blade could change that, whether or not it went through her.

Her neck still outstretched, as to not make contact with the sword, Sakura looked over to Sasuke. "What do you want? Sasuke, why me?" she shouted.

Sasuke balanced himself on the thin branch of a tree, walking one foot in front of the other like a tightrope walker, only with more grace. He hopped onto the branch the rosette and his team were standing at. "The task is simple," he told her, his deep voice rich with violence and death, "come with me."

"Why, Sasuke, why!" she bellowed, desperate now.

"Simple," Sasuke said. "You are his weakness. Without you," he explained, running a finger over her long neck at arm's distance; Sakura shivered as he continued, "he is nothing. He can do nothing. Without a weakling like you, he's a scared little boy."

Sakura's eyes lighted like fire. "Don't say that! Naruto isn't like he used to be! He's ten times stronger than you, any day!"

"Ha," the Uchiha laughed the short, one syllable. "Then why aren't I in the Konoha jail?" he asked.

"Because… Because he doesn't want to kill you!" Sakura panted. "Because if he used his power on you, he'd accidentally kill you! Because you're like his brother!"

Sasuke's scowl remained unfazed. "Bonds are weaknesses," he said, nodding at Suigetsu.

It all went black.

* * *

Sasuke pinched his nose between his thumb and forefinger. The look in her eyes haunted him. Those eyes didn't belong to the bubbly Haruno he knew. They were too dim, too dead—like looking into the eyes of a corpse. They didn't have the shine that made them Sakura's eyes. They weren't Sakura's eyes. There was too much torture for those orbs to belong to the Sakura he once knew. They didn't light up the dark like they used to. They didn't explode with love.

He remembered her looking up at him with those big green orbs of hers, long ago. There was hope back then. He remembered long ago, thinking, _That's why I like her so much_, right before he backed out of the kiss. Her determination was the reason. It was a determination that showed in her eyes. Now there was hopelessness to replace that willpower.

He wondered if, with or without the look in her eyes, she was just as stubborn. That was another personality trait that no longer was evident in her eyes.

There was nothing in them now. Despair…loneliness…fear… There was nothing else in her eyes. One who just met her would think that her eyes were bright as the sky. But not him. He knew those eyes when they were vivid. When they were brighter than the sun itself. Now they were as dim as his soul.

Sasuke shook his head, looking back to his kusanagi from Sakura's pink mop of knocked out hair. He ran the rag in his hand along the sharp end of the blade. He had no bonds, he reminded himself, watching as the night's moonlight hit his blade to make it shine, he had cut them with this very sword long ago.

So, if he had no bonds, why did he worry over the look in Sakura's eyes? Why couldn't he stop thinking that is was all his fault?

His face expressionless, he maneuvered his kusanagi to an angle where only its tip looked like a silver star, and mulled over his answerless question.

They had moved the camp from near Konoha to near Oto. Sasuke had been forced to carry Sakura, Suigetsu having his sword and Karin being too weak. Of course, if the weakling proved to be more useful than originally planed, then he didn't mind. Suigetsu had Sakura's head on his lap, frowning at something he saw on her expression, and Karin was looking through Sakura's bag, having already found some solider pills.

Sasuke found that the more he tried, the more he found it impossible to keep his eyes off Sakura. She had changed so much. She was stronger. She was detached. She was…she was turning into him. He remembered the first nights after he decided to go to Orochimaru. He remembered feeling stronger, he remembered distancing himself from everyone before hand. Sasuke gritted his teeth and frowned. He was aware that the world didn't need another him.

But why did he care?

He didn't.

"Sasuke-kun!"

Sasuke's head turned from Sakura to Karin. Her scarlet eyes were bright. Sasuke wished they weren't, because the brightness of Karin's eyes—which would never be as bright as Sakura's once were—reminded him of the gloominess of Sakura's.

"Look, Sakura has her tantō in here! You want it, Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke nodded. Karin threw it, knowing Sasuke would catch it. Sasuke put it into the lapels of his belt. The farther it was from Sakura the better.

Sasuke's head turned to Suigetsu when his lips twitched to a smile. "Morning, sleepy-head," the swordsman said. Sasuke was next to him in a second, watching as Sakura's pink-peach eyelids fluttered open. He expected the vibrant green to replace the soft eyelids, only to be disappointed when it was the dull emerald he had met just hours ago.

"Jonah?"

Suigetsu sighed, knowing she wouldn't be used to hearing his voice from a hated ninja. "No, dumb-yarō. It's Sui."

At the sound of the name, Sakura's fist flew forward. She was in a crouch instantly, glaring at the three she woke up to.

Sasuke smirked. She was still stubborn. He felt some reassurance at knowing that. Suigetsu, however, held his cheek and checked the ground for his teeth. His gums were bleeding uncontrollably. "Sakura, seikō!" Suigetsu shouted, throwing in 'ow's for extra effect.

"You shouldn't be fighting with your new teammates, Sakura-_chan_," Sasuke tsked. The emphasis he put on 'chan' had Sakura okotte.

Sakura's top lip curled up to imitate the growl of a lion. "Over my cadaver, Sasuke, over my cadaver," she said, calmly.

Karin laughed. "It can be arranged," she told her. Sakura glared at the redhead.

"We're not going to fight," Sasuke told both girls.

Sakura glared at Sasuke's dark eyes. Whoever said eyes were portals to the soul, they had obviously dealt with Uchiha Sasuke. His expression gave away nothing. It was like looking at the expression of a stone. Unchanging, no matter how hard you stared. But his eyes of ebony water…were like a lake. If you looked hard enough, you could see right through to the fish and plants and dirt. If you looked hard enough, if you knew how, you could see every feeling he had ever had, every emotion he ever buried, every sentiment he didn't want you to know. There was no trace of deceit in his eyes. Just pure and utter annoyance. Sakura straitened her stance and glared off into space.

Sasuke turned his back to her, walking away. Sakura stared at him, then shrugged and walked to the fire, trying to gather her things.

"We're not letting you go, Sakura." It was Maze's voice. No, no, excuse her, _Karin's_ voice.

Sakura grabbed her hairbrush and stuffed it into her bag. "You don't have to _let_ me."

"We'll find you. We got in once, we can do it again."

"No. Now, I know."

"Sakura!" came Sasuke's voice.

"What the jigoku do you kuso want, you bastard?" Sakura shouted. Her hands made mincemeat of the mess near the flame that Karin had made. Sasuke looked back at her from the perimeter of the camp. "You leave me one a bench, chock me, kidnap me, and now you want me to follow you as if I'm still your little lapdog? No, Sasuke, honey, it don't work like that!"

"I'll let you go if you come."

"I'm coming!" Sakura shouted back, strapping her backpack around her back, knowing it was a lie, yet being foolish enough to hope.

Sasuke walked in front of her, not thinking her worthy of walking next to. Sakura signed and took it, hoping to leave soon. The darkness of the trees rapidly took over brightness of the moon. Sakura sighed, and the silence dragged on.

Sasuke was the one to break it.

"Why did you run away from me?" he asked, his eyes on the black trees, his stride monotonous.

Sakura took a deep breath, releasing it with the words, "Because my old crush wanted to kidnap me and I didn't want to have to fight him."

Sasuke's chicken-butt hair moved up and down. He was nodding. "Weak."

Sakura gritted her teeth and punched a tree. It slammed into the other trees, sending them flying. "That's not weak, Sasuke. I'd say that's pretty strong," Sakura told him.

Sasuke shook his head. "Go to sleep. We'll talk in the morning."

Sakura's pink brows arched. He had been the one to call her over, and now he was ordering her to sleep? What brand of nutty was he? "Why me? Why not…Kakashi? Or Naruto himself?"

Sasuke shrugged. Sakura glared at the Uchiha fan on the back of his shirt, not being able to see his eyes.

Her green orbs widened and she smiled as realization dawned on her. Sasuke was alive. He was alive and well. He had chosen her to kidnap. He had remembered her. Those thoughts had her giddy on the inside. Not only that, but he underestimated her! If he underestimated her—like the sexy sexist pig he had turned into—he wouldn't expect her to be vigilant. He wouldn't expect her to spy, to learn. She could learn all his secrets, being told by the nukenin himself. And then, after all she needed was said and done, she could run away while everyone was sleeping. Konoha would capture Sasuke, Suigetsu, and Karin and after they were put on parole, everything would be back to normal.

In the meanwhile, she could just enjoy her time with Sasuke, even if it would be short. She now understood the meaning of "Enjoy what you got while you still have it, because if it wasn't yours to keep, it won't ever come back."

Sasuke wasn't hers to keep. Sakura knew that. Maybe, as much as it burns a hatred in her stomach just thinking about it, maybe Sasuke belonged to Karin already. Maybe she was his already. Maybe she missed her chance.

Sakura's stomach acids burned at the thought, jumping and kicking franticly to protect what was theirs. Sakura gritted her teeth and tried stomaching the thought.

"Because you are his weakness. Not Kakashi. If I took Naruto, there would be no fun in watching him suffer."

Sakura nodded. If she were trying to weaken someone, namely Naruto, she would go after the women nearest him. He was so protective of the girls, like a big bear of a brother. The rosette sighed, "I'm going to bed. I'll be with Jonasan—Suigetsu if you need me. He seems to be the only nice person here. Have fun on your walk."

* * *

He didn't like the way those corpse-eyes stared at him. It was too steady, too alert…too cold. Nothing like the warm, bubbly, wavering gaze of his Sakura. Nothing like the look of the Sakura he knew.

So, he walked ahead of her. Walking away from the glare that those eyes always seemed to have.

Those weren't the eyes of the Sakura he wanted to kidnap. Those weren't the eyes of _Sakura_. He couldn't stop feeling that it was his fault the icy glare was there. His fault that they weren't warm and inviting. His fault that they didn't look at him the way they used to. His fault that they were the eyes of a corpse, with dead emotions and no feelings.

And he hated himself for it.

* * *

**All the Japanese in here is in former chapters. **

**R&R!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Japanese recap of old words:  
****Yarō—**_**asshole**_

**Cherushī—**_**Chelsea**_

**Chikushō—**_**damn**__**it**_

**Okotte—**_**pissed**_

**Kuso—**_**fucking**_

**Seikō—**_**fuck**_

**Orenji—**_**Orange**_

**Mazenta—**_**Magenta**_

**Jonasan—**_**Jonathan**_

**Mesu—_bitch_**

**Tawagato—_shit_**

**Shiri—_ass_**

**Kami—_god_**

**Jigoku—_hell_**

**The only Japanese will be names and cuss words. And they still will have the asterisks (*) and translations in at the bottom. If they're not here, they're in a previous chapter.**

**READ THIS:**

**http : / / www . fanfiction . net / s / 6677059 / 1 / How _ To _ Fail _ a_ Kidnapping**

**R&R! Enjoy!

* * *

**

Sakura sighed and stomped through the trees back to Suigetsu. The boy was still trying to look for his teeth. Sakura frowned. She didn't mean to hit him _that_ hard. Just hard enough to stun him or something. He was still Jonasan in some part of his soul someplace. Karin, however, turned out to be a really good actress, because she looked like a full-blown mesu. Right now, the redhead was sitting where Sasuke used to be, just waiting for him to come back, it looked.

Sakura scratched her neck awkwardly. "Sorry, Sui," she said. "Its just…your enemy ninja… I hear names…I punch."

Suigetsu smiled oddly, his mouth missing most teeth, the blood of his gums still not stopped. It looked like a peace offering and not at the same time. Blood dripped from the corner of his lips. Sakura winced. He would never find those teeth. They were scattered halfway across the world by now. Cringing at her handiwork, Sakura cupped Suigetsu's chin. Blood had flown even there. Sakura was used to the sticky feeling. "Keep your mouth open…" she told him, inspecting the wounds. He would have some scarring because of her fist, and his gums would be sore for most of the year, but he would be okay.

Sakura lighted a finger with charka to see better. Ooh, there was too much blood. He would pass out in the next nine minutes at the rate he was going. "Suigetsu, sit down and tilt your head back," Sakura ordered. The aqua haired teen did as told, resting his head on the bark of a nearby tree. The rosette stretched her palm, lighting it with charka. "Open wide." Suigetsu's mouth was invaded with prodding fingers. Suigetsu jumped and squealed at the soft digits. As she worked, they pain went down. He felt new teeth prodding at his gums, and then popping through. He hissed.

The Haruno pulled her hand back. It was covered in Sui's spit. She shook it off into the woods. A look of discuss on her face, Sakura sighed and said, "You should be alright. Just…try not to use your jaw too much."

Suigetsu rubbed at his cheeks and nodded. "Girl, you pack a punch! You should've saved it for Sasuke—he needs someone to kick his shiri every now and then," he shouted, hissing when he stopped. His gums stung.

"Suigetsu! I said, 'try not to use your jaw.' Didn't you hear me?" Sakura scolded.

Suigetsu nodded and rubbed his jawbone. "Mhmm," he hummed, mouth closed.

"If Sasuke cares, tell him I'm sleeping in a tree," Sakura ordered, jumping up and grabbing the branch of a tree, then somersaulting upwards. Sasuke's little appearance had stripped her of sleep. Then he knocked her out—didn't he know that knocking people out tired them more instead of resting them? The fear one suffered while unconscious was…indescribable.

Somersaulting up a few more branches, Sakura sighed. Here she was, a team member of the second most wanted ninja. Here she was, betraying her village against her will. She had told Tsunade she would be gone for a few days. They wouldn't get worried for another few days. That meant, Sakura thought as she laid on one of the branches, that Sasuke had enough time to either make it look like she did it on purpose, or make it look like she disappeared off the face of the earth. She had to leave behind some sign of struggle…or just so sign to let them know she was alive…or something. She had to leave something.

Sakura closed her eyes, curling up to the tree bark near the branch. Sasuke was alive… That thought let her fall asleep with a smile.

* * *

Karin watched the tree line for any sign of the Uchiha. He had to come back. The mesu did. Her red eyes turned to Suigetsu as he rubbed his jaw. Sakura said something and jumped up on a branch. She jumped to another one, like a monkey. Karin glared at Suigetsu and walked to him. He had his neck outstretched, looking up at her from his seat at the foot of the tree.

Karin put her hands on her hips and tapped her foot. "You're just going to _let_ her up there alone?" she rebuked, incredulous. "She could be running away for all we know!"

Suigetsu's purple eyes watched her as she blew off steam. He opened his jaw and hissed in pain when a million pinpricks assaulted his gums. He wanted to curse, but he knew another drill of agony would overcome him if he did. Instead, he grabbed a twig from nearby and scratched along the dirt, _I trust her_.

"You _trust _her? You don't know her! I don't know her, and I was the one pretending to be her friend!" Karin shouted. "She's a ninja! Trust isn't her thing! She'll betray who and whatever she gets her hands on!"

Suigetsu smirked and wrote, _Just like we did, Your Hideousness?_

Karin scowled. "That was different!" she argued. "Why aren't you talking!"

Suigetsu glared at her, scraping into the ground, _Different how? Because your precious 'Sasuke-kun' wanted us to? That's not different. In fact, that makes it worse! And I'm not talking because my jaw hurts and Sakura would have my head if I did_.

The redhead crossed her arm over her chest. Her eyes glowered at the words. "Sakura this, Sakura that…" she muttered, jealous. "Go up there and watch her!"

Sui leered. It was an obvious look, signifying that he knew of her jealousy. He gave her a nod and jumped up to the trees himself.

Suigetsu smiled at the sight that greeted him. Parts of Sakura's pink hair were covering her eyes and cheeks. A soft smile lifted her rosy cheeks. She was curling up on herself; shaping a small C. Suigetsu leaned against the bark. She looked so small, so frail. She looked like a china doll, perfect and in need of protection. He wondered how she could have made such a change. Just seconds ago, she had looked like a lioness, ready to pounce. She had looked fierce, strong. Now, with her long limbs tucked under her head, she looked too small, too innocent, to be the one that had knocked out most of his teeth. It was too large a change too quickly.

* * *

Sasuke pulled back some branches and walked. The only sound he heard were the sounds of his boots crushing lively leaves and the echoing reproach of his own thoughts.

His own subconscious was giving him a tongue lashing for the way he treated Sakura. He could do nothing but grin and bear it. He couldn't very much hurt himself, now could he? His mind shouted its agreement to Sakura's statement. It was true. He didn't condone that type of treatment to women. He didn't like to think that the weaker part of the human species was suffering something. All the women in his palace, maid, chef, concubine—you name it, they were treated right. The moment that was broken was the moment the man signed his death certificate.

But this wasn't a woman! This was Sakura…Sakura with the dull eyes, Sakura with the pained look, Sakura with the soft hair, Sakura with the doggedness… This wasn't a woman…she was too strong to be a woman. She had been through too much pain to fit into his definition of "woman." She wasn't weak, and she wasn't lazy. Her eyes showed the pain. Her eyes showed the determination. They were too dull to show anything but pain clearly. Like a murky spring—you could see some things clearer than others.

Sasuke stopped at the river he had arrived. The moon reflected on its waters. Sasuke kicked pebbles into the dark stream. The water rippled and the moon's likeness waved out of sight.

He should apologize.

Sasuke hated how he wanted to do that. He loathed how didn't desire to. He just reviled to confusion Sakura had brought with her.

He knelt by the river, drinking up the water. The clear, cold liquid fell both down his chin and to the water and into his mouth. He stood up to find the stars staring at him from the river. Black eyes glared at the stars. He could almost see the eyes of Kami, fiercely gazing up at him, ordering him to bemoan—to beg for forgiveness if necessary.

Sasuke growled and stormed back, having gone not even a mile.

He stormed through the bushes that blocked his path. The trail opened up to a perfect circle, where they had set up camp. His eyes stormed around, searching for the aqua-haired man and the pink-haired woman. They were nowhere in sight, just the redhead fangirl waiting for him at a tree. Sasuke glared at the fire as it cackled and licked at the sky. Then he glared at the ground Karin was near. Words were scraped into the dirt; words he couldn't make out but knew were there.

"Where are they?" the Uchiha asked lowly.

Karin smiled and ran to Sasuke, latching onto his arm. "Welcome back, Sasuke-kun," she purred seductively. She nudged her cheek into Sasuke's strong bicep. Sasuke waved her off as if nothing more than a pesky fly and glared at her. "Ugh," she moaned, knowing he wanted an answer, "they're up in the trees." She widened her eyes. "But, Sasuke-kun, I'm _sure_ they're having their _fun_. We can have ours, Sasuke-kun…"

Oh, Kami, no. Suigetsu…Sakura—it didn't add up. Good grace, no, no, no, no, _no_. Impossible.

But the last word she had said—_"I'll be with Suigetsu"_—could also be taken in another way. And the way Suigetsu smiled at her; it was a smile Sasuke knew well. It was the smile Naruto used to give Sakura.

Sasuke scowled. "_Which_ tree?" he growled.

"Why does it matter? We don't need them."

"Which tree, Karin!"

"Humph!" she huffed. The look in his eye—it wasn't worry, care, or even anger; it was jealousy. She didn't recognize it at first, but it was covetousness. "The one near where Suigetsu lost his teeth!"

Sasuke nodded and ran to the tree. He hopped up nineteen yards to be greeted with Sakura's back and Suigetsu's side. Her spine prodded out at her back, curving away from him. "I'll take it from here," he said.

Cringing from the pain in his jaw, Suigetsu managed the words, "But, boss-man, she's—"

"I said, I'll take it from here," Sasuke repeated, this time the words growled like dogs and bit like piranhas. This time, it was an order, not a suggestion. Sasuke sat across from Sakura, watching Suigetsu. His eyes held a dare in them. He was daring him to stay.

Suigetsu didn't like dares.

* * *

Birds chirped and sunlight fought its way through the leaves. It was a tiring battle, but one that woke Sakura. She felt better. She could really appreciate, now, the fact that she was still alive. Her death would have caused Naruto more pain than she cared to say. She decided that, because it would help Naruto, she would play along. She would try to sell it better than Karin and Suigetsu sold the Mazenta and Jonasan bit.

Surprisingly, she had slept soundly, twisting and turning, as was her normal sleep cycle. She usually woke up opposite to the side she had slept, and tonight was no acceptation. She woke up facing the branch and not the bark.

Sakura yawned and stretched, sniffing up the rancid smell coming from below. Her face twisted into an expression of abhorrence. What _was_ that smell? It smelled like rabbit and eggs and…the devil's cooking. Ew.

Sakura blinked and looked to a nearby branch, feeling the presence of someone. The person's shoulders were wet and shirtless. A purple belt was wrapped around his waist. Sasuke. "What's that smell?" Sakura asked, scared of the answer. She hoped they hadn't fried someone up or something…

Sasuke ran a whip alongside a short sword. Sakura realized it was her tantō. She didn't say anything. It wasn't like she used it. Sasuke peered down at the ground below them. "Karin's cooking."

The rosette gagged. "Gross!" she shouted, gripping the branch she sat at. "You want something good to eat, Sasuke? I think I can scrounge up some leftover dear," she offered.

Sasuke put down the short sword and looked at Sakura. "Later," he told her. "First, you and I have to talk."

Sakura looked at his onyx eyes. Her eyebrows pulled together in question and she hopped over to his branch, sitting cross-legged before him. "What is it?"

Sasuke sighed. He couldn't believe he was about to do this. It wasn't his nature. It wasn't in his character. Still, he put the sword into his belt and watched the dreary jade eyes before him. He couldn't believe that he was getting depressed over the light in her eyes—or the lack thereof. He couldn't help but foolishly hope that that with the small death of a part of his manhood, that those eyes would lighten up. "Look, Sakura," he sighed. "You were right. It wasn't right to treat you like a slave. You of all people should know how I _hate_, _loath_, _despise_, that. But I am above you. You are my prisoner." His eyes narrowed when he said that, returning to that seventeen-year-old killer instead of that thirteen-year-old ninja he used to be. "And it'll remain like that for the rest of your life."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Thanks for the apology. But I am _not_ your prisoner. I am your teammate, like I've always been. Now, I'm starving. You want some food, or are you going to starve?"

Sasuke smirked. "Tomato."

"As always," Sakura laughed, swinging down to the camp.

* * *

Karin frowned at the rabbit in her pot. An eye fried and its fur had cooked. It didn't look very appetizing. But it was all they had. And there was no way in jigoku that she was going to let that pink-haired vixen take her place in the kitchen too. Sasuke paid more attention to her, Suigetsu paid more attention to her—what did that mesu have that she didn't?

Suigetsu moaned in pain as he swallowed his jell-o. He was _not_ eating that…food? Poison? Vomit? Did it classify in any of those or all of those? Jigoku, he didn't even know! _Oh, Kami,_ Suigetsu thought, watching the poor rabbit, _did it just blink at me?_

Sakura's feet landed softly on the ground. Her cheeks were rosy and cheery and her eyes were just that much brighter. She smiled at Suigetsu and went rummaging in her backpack. She grabbed some things from it and walked to the fire. "My Kami, Karin!" she shouted. "What the jigoku did you do? Mangle it!"

Karin huffed. "I think it looks delicious," she lied.

Sakura shrugged. "Alright then, but if you want, I'm making dear. There's some leftovers if you want."

"No," Karin said, "Sasuke-kun and I will eat just fine!"

Sakura looked at her, unbelieving. She thought Sasuke would eat that…that whatever it was? For a fangirl, she didn't know much about Sasuke! "If you say so…"

* * *

Sakura sat next to Sasuke. The boy would not let her out of his sight and Sakura didn't know whether to be flattered or crept out. She chose flattered. He was paying more attention to her now than all the days at Konoha put together. Every time she caught his eyes on her, she blushed and smiled, and then returned to eating her dear in peace. Sasuke had, obviously, chosen Sakura's cooking over Karin's because, honestly, the thing would have had a better fate if a wolf just randomly decided that it wanted rabbit.

Karin was sulking over it quietly, poking at the rabbit's fried eye.

Sui looked at Sakura, smiling. He had been impressed once by her cooking before, but now she was just showing off. Of course, if Sasuke had known her before, then it wasn't showing off.

Sasuke swallowed his last bit of food and pulled Sakura's away from her. When Sakura opened her mouth to complain, Sasuke said, monotonously, "We have questions. You have answers."

* * *

**R&R**

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	11. Chapter 11

**The only Japanese will be names and cuss words. And they still will have the asterisks (*) and translations in at the bottom. If they're not here, they're in a previous chapter.**

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* * *

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Sakura's emerald eyes were more on the deer leg then Sasuke. She knew these "questions" he wanted her to answer had to do with Konoha and Naruto. She really wasn't worried about them. She hardly knew the answer to any of them. She hardly saw Naruto anymore, being busy with missions and worry and not being home for more than a week or so. She may be on the list for future Hokage, but she was only told what she absolutely, positively, needed to know and would not survive without.

It was a precaution from years ago. They never told anything to future Hokage—they were the most likely to get kidnapped. Somewhere in her brain, Sakura realized that the only person it had ever happened to was she. What kind of sick irony was that?

"Alright," Sakura smiled up at Sasuke, "but just to tell you, Sasuke: Answers only come out of a full tummy."

Sasuke's eyes had no sign of amusement. Sakura frowned. That was her best shot! She was no Naruto. Also, years of depression had striped her dry of any funny bone whatsoever.

Sakura found herself staring at her reflection in his eyes. They were glassy today—glassy and glossy. Had he been crying yesterday night? Why would he be crying? That was the gloss edge in his eyes. Had anyone else noticed that? What was wrong? Was she seeing things? A knot formed in her throat. Had it been her fault?

Sasuke gave a dry nod and gave the girl sitting next to him on the ground her mutton back. He held back the amusement from his expression when he saw her rip the white meat from its bone ruthlessly. She was hungry. He let her swallow before rushing into the questions. "Where's Naruto?"

Sakura looked longingly at the meat, as if not sure whether to answer him or take another bite. She sighed, knowing it was in her best interest to answer before eating. "Konoha," she said.

Sasuke nodded. He hadn't expected a fuller answer; in fact, he had expected no answer at all. "What does Konoha plan to do about finding me?"

Sakura swallowed her mouthful of meat. She looked him square in the eye and answered honestly, "We were trying to find you, but I don't know anything other than that."

The paradox of that statement hit her like a ton of bricks. The leader of the Sasuke Retrieval Team was one of her best friends, and she didn't even know what they were doing to get him back. Though, of course, both of them tried to stay clear of that topic—or anything to do with Sasuke, really—because they knew what it did to her. Shika knew and didn't want anything like that to happen.

Looking back now, when she was right next to Sasuke, her fears seemed dim-witted. How could she ever once even think that Sasuke was dead? Ever once think that anyone could do anything to the powerful rock of a man sitting next to her? She wondered how she could ever even once think that he had gone fully under the shadow of darkness that surrounded him. It was evident in his eyes—how there was still life in them, how they shinned like a light at the end of a tunnel. Sakura felt brainless ever even thinking that Sasuke—her Sasuke—would be lost in the immediate obscurity around him at every corner. Perhaps he had gone and left her for power. Had he really left her, when they were never together to begin with? Was it so bad that he needed closure?

Sasuke nodded once again. He could always tell when she was lying, no matter how good at it she was. But he didn't trust her. Someway, somehow, he would have to get her to tell him why she didn't know. But now was not a good time. He needed to be alone with her to ask her that for some reason—possibly because he didn't want his teammates to have the power of knowing these things and then getting abducted and spilling their guts out.

He watched as Sakura, preoccupied, bit another mouthful of deer. What was she thinking about? Sasuke didn't like not knowing. Back when they were kids, all he had to do was look at her and she'd tell him all her troubles. He didn't know if he liked or disliked this new side of her.

"Hn," he grunted, aligning his back on the tree. Suigetsu's eyes were glued to Sakura. Sasuke didn't like it. But could he tell him to back off without signaling that he cared? Because he didn't. "Tsunade—what is she doing about it?"

Sakura pursed her lips. She hadn't had a real conversation with anyone in a while. It was mission after mission, and when she got home, nap after nap after hospital duty. The only conversation she had was with Karin—who she then thought to be Maze—Suigetsu—who's identity was also concealed—and possibly her godchildren and cousin. Little kids didn't know anything about the war and Kimani was a baker, she hardly ever knew what was going on.

"I have no idea. Last I heard," she murmured, thinking back to about nine months ago, "she was sending out another team again."

Sasuke nodded, deciding to leave the rest of his questions for later. She would be thinking better on a full stomach. Perhaps she would remember then.

* * *

Karin watched Sasuke's onyx orbs as they watched the pink-haired vixen. His eyes were softer than they ever where when they looked at her. His charka was lighter, like when he was a child and his charka was interesting and amazing, not scary and devious. How was that fair? It was she, Karin, who had stood by him through the years, not her! Not Sakura! She was the one who stuck by him, even after he killed the only father-like figure she ever had. That was devotion!

Sakura appeared more interested in her stupid mutton—which looked so good, even half stripped of its meat—than in Sasuke! And Sasuke's eyes were watching her every move.

As were Suigetsu's.

That made the fire in her belly burn as if just fed fresh wood. She didn't like the way Suigetsu's eyes stared at her, like the way he stared at swords and water. As if he couldn't live without her.

What did Sakura have that she didn't; that made the boys go gaga over her?

Karin hated that woman with a fiery passion born in the flaming pits of hell.

* * *

Naruto frowned at his ramen as he slurped it up. Sakura had left yesterday evening. She hadn't even had one last lunch with him! And Neji and Hinata had already had the chefs sweating over the stoves; the waiters shaking in their shoes, all to give the three one last good meal and make sure they went off well. Naruto knew Sakura well enough to know that it was all her idea. She needed the brake.

Naruto knew it. He could see it in her eyes. When Sasuke-teme left, her eyes dimmed a shade. And whenever his name was mentioned, they dimmed another. And each time her father called her names or beat her, they dimmed an extra shade. Naruto knew she needed a vacation out of town, where she wasn't even in a mission to stress over. He knew that if he needed one, she would have no complaints over it, and neither would Hinata. But he also knew that if he ever needed it, he would have to take them both with him. He couldn't live a day without Hinata if he didn't have to, and he couldn't be away from Sakura too long or her eyes would dim another shade.

Depression changed the tint of her eyes far too much. Whenever he went on a mission, he made sure that Shikamaru was free, or he wouldn't take it. Being away from Sakura too long reminded her of the years Team Seven spent apart. Those years were still in counting, considering that Sasuke wasn't back yet.

Naruto didn't blame her for leaving early. They hadn't even told them about the lunch. It was supposed to be a surprise.

Still. She hadn't said goodbye. She had just up and left with Jonasan and Mazenta. They always said goodbye to each other when they left. _Always_. It was like an unspoken _law_.

Beside him, Hinata watched him. Her lavender eyes creased with worry. In the past two hours, he had only had five bowls. His record was nineteen bowls per hour, for crying out loud! "Naru-Naruto, are you alright?"

"Huh?" Naruto's blue eyes looked up at her confused. "Oh. Yeah, I'm okay."

* * *

Kakashi opened the door to his house, the knocking driving him crazy. He was greeted at the door by olive-green vests of the Konoha cops. Kakashi yawned and stretched in his white sleeping tee. His black eyes were questioning. "Wha'?" he asked, his voice tiered. He was sleepy still, having slept late while rebuking Sakura's father as calmly as possible for hitting her. Kakashi didn't even remember the guy's name.

"We're here for Haruno Robāto*," one of the police said, his voice stoic.

"Did Sakura-chan finally report him?" the copy ninja yawned.

"Yes, Master Kakashi," the other, a girl, affirmed.

The Hatake yawned and scratched his neck, stepping aside. "Right there—on the sofa," he told them. The two bluecoats walked in, their footing in tune. One whipped out handcuffs while the other woke the redhead. "Mister Haruno Robāto, you are under arrest for child abuse and laying hand on a ninja," the woman droned.

Robāto's eyes lit with anger. He was alert at once. "_Child abuse_," he roared, angered. "Of what child!"

The man forced him up, chaining his hands behind him. "Of Haruno Sakura, Konoha ninja."

"What the jigoku! Hatake! Did you do this, you traitor!"

Kakashi shrugged. "Try your daughter. She doesn't kid around," he dosed, watching as idiot was dragged out of his house.

* * *

Sakura sighed, discarding the bone into the woods for the wolves to eat. Her mind reeled to her mother. It was she who Sakura had followed. She was the ninja in the family. She was the one Sakura looked up to. A while ago—about five years—she had gone missing. A while ago—seven months to be exact—was the last time Orochimaru was spotted before his carcass was found, burnt to a crisp.

Tsunade said Orochimaru had been the one to capture her, that the evidenced proved so. Sakura wondered why Orochimaru, of all people, would want something with her mother. She wondered what had become of her poetic mother.

She wondered why her mom would marry such a person as her father—her hateful, loathing, odious father. She loved him so much, she did—he was her father, there was no choice in it, it was a natural reaction—but as a person…he was the worst father to ever walk the face of the earth. Sakura sighed, wondering if he had already been taken to jail.

Would he know who sent him to it? Would he think that she was too weak of a child to think of anything like that? That she didn't have the guts? Would he think that maybe Kakashi did it—or Naruto—or someone else?

Why did she care?

Sakura smiled at the memory of her mother. Thick, red lips always offering a smile—long, black hair shinning in the sunlight—white skin, pale as paper—long, rounded features. Her white skin, mixed with her father's brown skin, had made her pinkish skin. Sakura always thought that her mother's white overpowered her father's tan. The dark-haired woman had loved snakes. Sakura remembered how she would always keep a boa constrictor as a pet… That's how Sakura came by her love of the slimy things. Although, when they're pets to the most dangerous genius known to man, they're pretty frightening. Sakura remembered the purple birthmarks lining her nose. They were beautiful—elegant. Her eyes were big, green, and bright, their pupils dark, wide, and long.

The rosette looked up at the sun from her spot under the tree. This tree was different than the others. It had bright green leaves and pink flowers lined the braches. This was a sakura tree—her namesake. _Mom loved sakura trees,_ Sakura remembered, a smile on her face.

How she missed her. Her memory was a happy one.

She smiled wider and turned her head back to the river. Suigetsu's head broke through the surface, running away from Karin's predatory look. Sasuke floated off in a corner, his pants on. The guys had kept their clothes on, for modesty's sake. Although, Sakura had a feeling that Sasuke would have kept his pants on either way to avoid unwanted attention from Karin.

It was hot. The sun's flames licked at her skin. She might as well join them—she was going to be here for a while, there was no need to spend it stinky.

Sakura stripped down to her leggings and bindings. "Suigetsu!" she called, laughing. "I'll be right there to save you!"

* * *

Sasuke floated atop the water. Suigetsu and Karin were fighting again. He took a deep breath and swam away. His mind was a black slate, only looking up at the shinning sky. He hadn't felt this free in years. He hadn't felt this calm in years. He loved it.

"Suigetsu! I'll be right there to save you!"

Sasuke's eyes, vigilantly, watched Sakura strip off her shirt, leaving her in bindings. Sasuke tried not to stare, amazed that he wanted to. The smile on her face was gleeful. He watched as Sui's eyes popped wide. He didn't like the look in them. He didn't like Suigetsu seeing her like this.

But what could he do?

* * *

**Robāto—Robert**

**Chapter 11, up! R&R!**


	12. Chapter 12

**The only Japanese will be names and cuss words. And they still will have the asterisks (*) and translations in at the bottom. If they're not here, they're in a previous chapter.**

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Sasuke watched as Sakura waded into the water. Suigetsu welcomed her with a cold splash. Sakura gasped and pushed a stronger wave to him. She laughed, saying, "I came here to protect you!" Sasuke didn't know whether to smirk or frown. He remembered Sakura doing this with Naruto when they were in a river trying to get food or something. He remembered intervening with an angry expression, telling them that they needed to eat and that playing around wouldn't help them with that; on the inside, he remembered being really happy that he had people around him that don't mind getting into a playful fight every now and then, that they supported him.

Suigetsu laughed and growled back, forgetting Karin almost instantly, "I'm in my own element! I can protect myself!" He hissed at the pain in his jaw.

Sakura splashed him again, a scolding. "I told you not to talk, you dummy!"

Sasuke watched as Sakura's pink hair sank under the water. She was swimming away, Sasuke thought. Suigetsu grabbed her leg before she had the chance to kick away from him.

"Sui! Let go! I need the kuso soap!" she ordered, laughing. Her voice was muffled half by the water she was gargling. Suigetsu's pale hand let go of her, watching as she grabbed the soap and threw it at him, her aim perfect. "Hah!" she hooted, watching as Suigetsu rubbed his eye. "That's what you get! Sucker!"

The Uchiha shook his head, though if it was in amusement or disapproval he himself did not know. He turned around to the waterfall, where the rush drowned out all the laughter. He needed to think. He needed to be alone and think about what he planned to do next.

He rounded the waters to the waterfall. Behind it, he couldn't hear anything other than his own thoughts.

He had honestly thought that getting Sakura would have taken a longer time. He had been so focused on Sakura and what she was doing, or Suigetsu and how he looked at Sakura, or rubbing Karin off his arm, that he hadn't thought ahead. Sasuke knew that they had to keep Sakura. He wouldn't let her go after she knew that he was alive, that he was alive and well. He had to keep her to worry Naruto. He had to enrage him.

But how to get Sakura to do it on her own account? How to get her to not run for him when they got to Konoha? How to—

"Sasuke-kun?"

Seikō.

Karin hugged his arm flirtatiously. "Sasuke-kun, can we talk?" she asked, rather distracted with the way his strong muscle felt under her fingers. The sinew under his skin tightened as he tensed. His dark eyes narrowed. Did she not know how much he hated her? Hated was not a strong enough word—loathed, despised, detested… The words were still not strong enough.

Sasuke brushed her off. There was a reason Suigetsu found pleasure in angering her, and Sasuke was starting to see it. The reason was so that he could piss her off before she did he. "Go away," he ordered, the two words stiff and clipped.

Karin stomped her foot in the water, but it didn't have the same effect as she wanted them to have. Even the water was against her today. Her arms crossed over her chest. She, too, was in her bindings. They didn't have the same pull on his eyes as Sakura's did. "Sasuke-kun," she said sternly, "we _need_ to talk."

Sasuke glared at her. "I told you to go away."

Karin frowned at the water. She didn't have the strength to look into his now red eyes like Sakura had last night; she hated herself for it. She really wanted to look at Sasuke, look into the captivating red of his lovely eyes and tell him how much she wanted her part in the relationship—whatever relationship it may be, whether it be friendship, partnership, or what she wanted it to be, courtship—but she couldn't. She was scared. She also didn't want to disobey Sasuke-kun. It might ruin her chances, however slim they may be, with him.

"Fine," the redhead sighed, "but we really need to talk about Sakura."

Sasuke's eyes dimmed from red to black as Karin waded her way out. He grabbed her shoulder and stopped her. "What of Sakura?" he asked.

Karin's eyes stayed the same, but her heart flared with anger. That was all it took? The simple mention of Sakura! What did Sakura have that she didn't? Karin watched his eyes as they creased. "Well," she said, turning her head to the rushing of the falls, where past it she could see Suigetsu and Sakura splashing each other, "its just that she seems to get along with Suigetsu really well. I was thinking that maybe she wanted something…more, I guess…with him. She _is_ a ninja after all, maybe she wants to sleep with him and get answers from him." How Karin loved the anger blossoming in his charka.

Sasuke glared at the nebulous figures of blue and pink beyond the rushing water. Sakura wouldn't do that. She was too respectful. She only knew Suigetsu for about three days. A fire smoldered in the pit of his stomach at the thought of them two…at the thought of Suigetsu taking advantage of her like that…at the thought of Sakura _wanting_ to… His skin flamed irritably, as if his own chidori had lit his skin.

He grit his teeth at the evidence. There was still a bond with her, he knew. But he didn't let himself register it. Instead, Sasuke growled in his mind, _I have no ties._

Karin watched as Sasuke glared, watched as his lips moved, watched as he said, "I'll talk to her." She couldn't be more disappointed. If it was someone else, like herself for example, the first thing he would do would be to grab the kusanagi and threaten him or her at knifepoint. But all he said was 'I'll talk to her'! What the jigoku! Karin bit the inside of her lower lip and walked away, her tail between her legs.

Sasuke took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. Reminding himself that Sakura only ever responded to good treatment, that otherwise, she would get pissed and try to run away again. He didn't need her running away. They were close to Oto, but they were also close to Konoha and Takigakure, which was allies with Konoha. She might run into some unlucky camper before he had the time to drag her back.

The deep breath still in his lungs, the sole Uchiha went underwater, hoping that the rushing water in his ears would clear his mind.

Gasping as he came up, his hair strait and lying on shoulders, Sasuke smirked. His eyes glowed red. He had the answer all the time.

* * *

Sakura laughed, wringing her hair out. Her latex leggings hadn't soaked through. Water rolled off them and into her long, pale, and scarred legs. Suigetsu noticed that her whole body was designed with scars, crisscrossing in a disorderly fashion. Half of them were white and soft, like Orochimaru's skin, and others were pink and bright. Those worried him. A long, thin gash ran across her flat stomach, fresh and vivid. Suigetsu's eyes creased questioningly as he ran a finger along it.

The rosette swatted his hand away. "What?" she asked, self-conscious. Her green eyes saw the inquiry in his violet eyes. Her own fingers went from her hair, where they had retreated to when she swatted, to the diagonal, rough scar atop her navel. She traced it, its thin ends and larger middle. "I got slashed by a booby-trap, alright?"

Suigetsu wanted to ask where, but the pain in his mouth wouldn't let him. He just nodded and leaned back on the sakura tree. Sakura pulled on her skirt and sighed. She left her shirt on the forest floor. It was too hot. She felt the H2O heat and turn to water vapor on her body, and she didn't want to put on the top.

"It's so _hot_ here! I didn't think there was a place hotter than Konoha," Sakura complained.

Suigetsu nodded. "Well, it's a forest it gets—hot seikō!" he cussed, rubbing his cheek as his jaw burned.

Sakura sighed, "I told you."

Her eyes searched around for Sasuke and Karin. She hadn't seen them for a while. Her eyes explored the running river. It was large, and Sasuke could hold his breath for a long time. He could be underwater. But where was Karin?

Sakura looked at her bare feet, wondering if she still knew how to do it. Naruto had showed her, if she remembered correctly. It had been so long ago. Her toes flexed and the paint on her toenails glowed a little bit brighter. She shrugged and took one step into the water. It had been so long since she had walked on water. She didn't remember the almost solid-almost liquid-not-quite-either feel under her feet. Sakura walked over the nine-yard width of the lake to be greeted with the red of Karin's hair.

Suigetsu watched her. He could never walk on water. He always became it when he tried. He had to get her to teach him!

"Hey, Karin," Sakura called, "what happened? You just left." The Haruno still had hopes of resurrecting the friendship she had with her when she was Maze.

"Nothing, mesu. Go away, I'm getting dressed," came her voice.

Sakura shrugged. "Alright. Whatever. Where's Sasuke?"

"That's not your bees-wax!" the redhead shouted back childishly. Sakura rolled her green eyes and walked back to the water, deciding to check the waterfall. He had always liked the sound of rushing water.

Sasuke's wet back welcomed her. Droplets of water ran down the tendons of his back. His strength was evident in the size of his muscles; they were of a magnitude that would make even the worst bandits think twice about doing anything. Water sprayed her body, but she didn't care, just giving herself a chance to enjoy the view, knowing he had already noticed her.

Sasuke grinned, knowing of Sakura's enjoyment. She had never looked at Suigetsu like that, he'd bet. Sasuke felt the weight of her eyes traveling down his back as he ran the soap across his stomach. He felt the weight of her eyes on his relaxing muscles. Some part of him sighed. He still had it, thank Kami. He used his looks to get the weaker sex to tell him things. Having Sakura, the new Sakura with the darker eyes, watch him assured him that there still was some of that fan-girl in her. Assured him that she was still weak, no matter how many stronger outer skins she had put on.

"What is it, Sakura?" he asked, letting the soap sink into the bottom of the spring.

Sakura pushed herself off the rock damp rock wall and walked onto the water. "Sasuke," she sighed, and sat on the water, floating above it, "I need to ask you something."

Sasuke waited for the question. He ran his fingers through his lip hair, looking at the little waves in Sakura's not-quite dry hair. Her bangs were in little ringlets, curling from the water.

The rosette's eyes stared into Sasuke's depthless, soulless eyes. She thought back to her mother's abducting. _"It was Orochimaru's doing, alright,"_ she remembered Tsunade saying. She remembered crying heavily into her father's uncaring chest; remembered her father drone on about how her tears were useless. Sakura chewed on the inside of her cheek before deciding to start her inquiry with, "Orochimaru snatched my mother long ago… I haven't seen her years… You were his apprentice back then…" Her question had many pauses, hesitating as she watched his unwavering eyes. "Do you…know anything? Like, did he tell you anything?"

That was the pain in her eyes, Sasuke understood. That was the hell that darkened her eyes. The loss of her mother. A mother who might still be alive, though Sasuke doubted it. He did know that Orochimaru kept some of the women he stole as prizes for his better ninja. Most of them didn't make it out of the bedroom. Some did.

"What did she look like?" Sasuke asked, walking over where the girl floated.

* * *

Robāto gripped the iron bars of his cell.

What kind of daughter would do this to her father? What kind of children would put their own father in jail? It was his right to abuse and bruise her as he wanted! That was why he was the man of the house! It was why he wore the pants! It was why he wore briefs instead of panties! He was the dictator—he commanded each part of his family and life! It was because of him that the ungrateful spawn of his was a ninja! He could have said no! He could have refused to let her enroll!

The Haruno shook the bars as forcefully as he could.

She had turned out just like her mother. Just like her stubborn, loving mother who wouldn't let anyone put a finger on her or her child. The woman who had been captured pregnant with a child that wasn't his. He really wished he hadn't sent her away. Wished he hadn't kicked her out of his house. Wished that he had heard from her in the past four years.

* * *

**Guess who Sakura's mother is! I'll give you a hint: It is _not_ O********u. ****(Censored because you need to figure it out!)**

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	13. Chapter 13

**The only Japanese will be names and cuss words. And they still will have the asterisks (*) and translations in at the bottom. If they're not here, they're in a previous chapter.**

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**

* * *

**

Sasuke waded over to where Sakura floated and sat on the water himself. His onyx eyes watched the emerald ones. Those eyes were welling up with tears at the thought of her mother. Sasuke gritted his teeth and forced his arm not to move around her shoulders in comfort.

Sakura swallowed and watched the ripples in the azure water as they expanded and disappeared altogether. "She has green eyes. They were so bright and beautiful. Her skin is pale and white, like paper. Her features are long and rounded, like a little girl's. She has purple birthmarks running the length of her nose, stopping midway. Her hair is long and black, blacker and darker than a moonless night." Pride etched itself into her voice as the list went on, mingling with the sadness of not having her. "She's really thin. Her lips are real thick, though—really red. And she's short. Just a little bit shorter than I am."

Sasuke creased his eyebrows unbelievingly. "That sounds a lot like Orochimaru." His mind went to the angry woman that Orochimaru had brought to the hideout, the only one with the guts to shout and yell at him. The weird part was, he hadn't brought her in chains. She had come willingly. They looked alike, very alike. The woman had been yelling something about her daughter. She was still at the palace, running things while Sasuke was out, like Orochimaru had always told her to. He remembered the day, around five, four years ago—it was soon after he had joined—clearly. The woman was one of the lucky few that if someone even looked at, Orochimaru would waste no time in beheading them.

Sakura thought back to her memory of the late snake. They _did_ look alike. She just refused to accept it. "No," Sakura said. "Mom looks like herself."

Denial.

Sasuke shrugged and gripped her chin. Her green eyes were brighter, livelier. He didn't believe it. They were closer to what they had been when he was in Konoha. Too bad he had to do what he had to do.

Sakura winced at the tight grasp he had, but didn't move away. Other than the tightness of his grasp, his skin felt good atop hers. It was warm, but cold…a confusing temperature. It was wonderful. She watched as Sasuke's raven eyes searched her own. They were so dark…so beautiful… Sakura thought to what had attracted her to him. Sure, his looks had played a big part, but that wasn't why she loved him with the intensity that ate at her heart.

It was his eyes—his dark, telltale eyes.

They had shown her the pain he felt. They had shown her the care he wanted. They had shown her the love he was capable of giving. And she had wanted to be the one to receive that love, to give him that care, to understand his pain. That was why she didn't give up whenever he called her annoying, or weak, or a nothing. Because she could see it in his eyes that he didn't mean it. She was just waiting for him to notice it.

Sakura gasped when those eyes that she loved turned the bloody red she had been greeted with last night. Instinctively, her head turned to the side and her eyes looked to the water on which she floated. But Sasuke's hand wouldn't let her. The tomoe started spinning, faster and faster to a pace were she could no longer keep up with them.

She felt compelled to keep up with them. Her eyes spun. Her head hurt.

Sasuke frowned. He was using the softer version, in which she knew what was happening. It was like a parlor trick, one that he wouldn't take her out of. He would make her believe that she chose to come; believe that she wanted to kill Naruto and destroy Konoha.

An idea popped into his head. It was selfish, egotistical, and conceded. He smirked.

* * *

He looked at the caged clock. Three hours. He had thought that that unappreciative daughter of his would have come to visit by now. To rub it in his face perhaps.

Robāto ran a hand through his hair, the sweaty locks sticking to his fingers briefly. He had sweated a lot when he struggled to get out of their charka infused grasp. He felt the rope burn of the cuffs plainly on his wrists. The Haruno lent back onto the cold stonewall of his cell. The cold seeped into the fibers of his new orange garb like the wintry fingers of Jack Frost, chilling him to the very marrow. He glared at the sleeves of it. They were long. In this eternal heat, they had thought it best to have long sleeves?

Robāto pulled them off, the thread making a satisfying ripping sound.

It was only now that he really appreciated the last four years with the idiot rosette. The last four years when Hebia* wasn't there to tell him not to hit her, not to whip her. The last for years when he could freely hit, whip, and discipline however his wished.

Those were the only good years he had with his daughter—not when she was a newborn, baby, or child. When she was a newborn, she hogged up all of Hebia's attention. When she was a baby, she cried too much. When she was a child, she wanted too much.

No. He didn't like her at all back then.

But those last four years, when he could teach her right and wrong, were the ones he enjoyed most. He remembered the leather of his whip, relished the sound it made as it lashed across her skin, loved the scars he had left on her. The only thing he regretted was not being able to give her the really bad ones. Like the large one Kakashi had told him about, the one she got during that "mission" she was sent on with him.

What kind of Hokage sends out a girl to do a man's job? What kind of Elders place a woman in the place of Hokage? It didn't make sense.

The soft padding of feet on the concrete floor outside his cell dragged him out of his thoughts. They echoed inside the relative silence of the prison. All of its jailbirds were apparently "ashamed" of what they had or hadn't done. The wimps. The feet click-clacked all the way to his cell. Robāto sat up, elbows on his outstretched knees, hands folded, and watched the blonde be led by a cop.

"Haruno, Naruto-sama wished to see you in your cell," the cop announced, the aforementioned blonde standing behind him. Robāto nodded. The cop left, leaving the blonde and him together, separated only by a few pounds worth of iron.

"Where is my daughter?" Robāto asked, his voice less interested than he should be.

Icy blue eyes, obviously angered, glared at him. Their weight landed on him as if nothing more than a feather. The boy kept his hands inside his orange pants, gritting his teeth. "Kami has blessed you by being in that cell," he said, scowling, "because he knows that if you weren't…" His eyes tightened and his glare froze as if put in dry ice.

The redhead let the comment slide, more interesting in squashing the neck of his child. "Where is my daughter?" he asked again.

"The moment you hit her, you lost the right to know, you bastard," Naruto growled.

Robāto snorted, rolling his blue eyes. "If you weren't going to tell me, why'd you come here? To watch me? To see me inside this hellhole of a cell?" he questioned.

Naruto glowered at him for three long, unending minutes before saying, "That's right. You deserve worse than this for ever laying a finger on Sakura-chan. Bastard."

Robāto grunted a short laugh and leaned back against the wall, letting the so-called ninja enjoy the view.

* * *

Shikamaru sighed and looked at Tsunade. The blonde fussed over page after page of paperwork. The Nara waited lazily as the godaime found a page and gave herself a paper-cut. On the same page, she used her index finger to write something. Shikamaru suspected it was either his name or Naruto's. Perhaps Kakashi's but he had just gotten home less than two days ago.

Tsunade sighed as her bloody characters appeared on the page with decent neatness. _Hatake Kakashi,_ she wrote on the top of the parchment. She hated doing this—Kami knew how much she hated doing this. She didn't want to send him out again. He had only gotten home just days ago and he was still stressed out. The godaime could only imagine the anxiety put on him—dealing with Sakura's depression, her steeliness, her worry, her love for him. The girl hardly spoke anymore. She was just…in the background. Just…there. She wasn't as bubbly as she used to be. Tsunade had been hoping that sending her to a place where Sasuke's presence was strong—potent—would bring back good memories; but it didn't do anything.

She remembered the reluctance in her dim eyes when she had asked her to give over the key chain. The rosette had already grown attached to it, or, rather, it was the only thing that had been in the possession of the person she was attached to it. Tsunade really hadn't wanted to take it from her, to rip away the little part of her that still had hope that Sasuke was alive, but it was her job to analyze it. She had promised herself that the moment it came back from the labs, she would give it up to Sakura. She wanted to see the girl's eyes light up like a green firecracker, like she hadn't seen in years.

The blonde remembered watching as Sakura's eyes dimmed, fainted, muted in depression. She had felt utterly weak not being able to do anything. Sasuke had more power than he had ever known over the elegant young woman. Sasuke and Robāto. Her father beats her, her crush runs away, her mother is kidnapped… Tsunade honestly couldn't see a life worse than Sakura's, and it hurt to know that she couldn't do anything about it. What she would do so that it was she suffering and not Sakura, sweet, innocent Sakura who had never done anything but love too much. Because that was her disgrace, her heart. It was too big, fit too many people, let go of none. She was a victim of her own compassion.

Tsunade sighed longingly as she dragged her finger along the page, signing her name phonetically, unlike the rest of the document. She pulled her finger off the page and popped it into her mouth, sucking on the rusty-tasting blood. It made a popping sound as she pulled it out of her mouth and wiped the saliva on her blue capris. "Here," she said, calling forth the Nara, "give this is to Kakashi. Get me Naruto and Kiba, and get your shiri in here with them."

Shikamaru respectfully and boringly took the scroll and disappeared out the door.

The godaime groaned. Another search party for Uchiha. Would it ever end?

* * *

Sasuke gave a faint smirk at his handiwork. He didn't ever think he would love his Sharingan more. He loved the perplexed expression Suigetsu gave Sakura as she passed by him, not sparing him a second glance. He loved her brighter eyes, more carefree. He hadn't planed on them. He had thought that turning her against Konoha would darken their shade, but instead, they were greener. Happier. Carefree. And overall, stonier. They look in them—fierce, lion-like, protective. He hadn't ever thought he'd use this word, but he thought it was…_sexy_.

Sakura's hips moved slickly, sharply, like she was _proud_ of them and not afraid to show it. All her modesty had gone. She stood up straighter. Sasuke hadn't changed any of that. He had just changed her outlook, changed it into working for him. Apparently, her outlook had a lot to do with her posture. Her personality was not touched in the least. Other than her viewpoint…and her friendship with Suigetsu…Sasuke hadn't touched, hypnotized, a thing.

He had never thought that being selfish would feel so good. He loved the indifference Sakura regarded Suigetsu with, other than a polite hello. Nothing…friendlier. Sakura had walked strait to her things, stuffing them inside her backpack. After he had let her out of his hypnosis, he had ordered her to get her things together, that they were leaving. He loved how willing she was.

A smirk plastered to his perfectly tan face, Sasuke walked out of the canopy of the trees and out to the fire, where he had a better sight of Sui's sad confusion. The water-ninja stood up, making his way to Sakura, only to be stopped by Sasuke's strong arm, blocking the way.

"What up with Sakura?" the Hōzuki questioned, ignoring the almost unbearable pain in his jawbone.

Sasuke ignored the inquiry. His dark, bitter eyes stared him down. "Leave her alone. I don't want you talking to her. Understand?"

Suigetsu's bluish-silver eyebrows knitted together tightly. "Why?" He gritted his teeth.

"'Cause I said so," Sasuke growled.

* * *

**Hebia—snake, with an added "a" to make it a name. (pronounced he-buy-ah)**

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	14. Chapter 14

**The only Japanese will be names and cuss words. And they still will have the asterisks (*) and translations in at the bottom. If they're not here, they're in a previous chapter.**

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**http : / / www . fanfiction . net / s / 6677059 / 1 / How _ To _ Fail _ a_ Kidnapping**

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* * *

Karin's lips twitch like the poor bunny's nose she had roughly hunted this morrow. It had been no clean shot like Sakura had shown, and she hated it. She hated that she couldn't do anything like Sakura, hated that even Sasuke, who didn't like anyone, liked the rosette better than her. She hated that it was Sakura Sasuke watched as she packed up. Hated that it was her that wasn't told a thing. It was a horrible feeling. She wasn't even second-best, more like last. She even hated that she hated it!

Karin hated that she wasn't told what was happening. She hated the saltwater coming to her cheeks. She hated that she had competition and didn't know what the rivalry's strategy. She hated that maybe the rival didn't _have_ one. She hated that maybe the foe was just being herself. She hated that she wasn't enough to make Sasuke happy by being herself. She hated that she couldn't bring his charka back to its normal appealing color and Sakura could.

She hated that Suigetsu no longer bothered to bother her. She hated that he almost drooled over Sakura. Hated that the rosette could turn both guys to jelly by just walking by them. She hated that Suigetsu cared about the girl. She hated that Suigetsu didn't annoy Sakura. She hated it all.

Karin's stomach growled as if a monster were stuck in there, willing its way out. Her stomach acids boiled, burning at her torso. She hated eaten that poor bunny. It looked too ill after cooking… Karin had waited until Sasuke walked out to the spring, Suigetsu and Sakura following after him, to kick that thing to the forest and run after them.

She loved that, for even the shortest time, Suigetsu had bothered her, had annoyed her, had _noticed _her. That, for the shortest time, he had forgotten about Sakura. And then the little feline had stripped down, saying she was going to "save him" from Karin. Kami, the fire that burned in her belly when she saw Suigetsu's eyes pop out. She hated it. She hated everything about their "new team member."

Karin's red eyes watched as Sasuke lowly growled at Suigetsu. She couldn't make out the words. Then, Sasuke said, loud enough for everyone to hear, "We're going home."

Those three words fed the inferno inside her heart. That was why Sakura was packing up. And Karin was the last to know. She fisted her hands and closed her eyes, wanting to rip those big green eyes that Sasuke and Suigetsu had fallen victim to right out of their sockets.

Why couldn't she have the eyes that they fell victim to? Why wasn't she enough for them?

* * *

Suigetsu sighed. He watched as Sakura swung the bag over her shoulder. He didn't know she could hold that much weight—he had carried it, while carrying her, to this small little haven, and he knew it had to weigh at least half her weight. There were so many things he was sure she wouldn't ever bring on a true mission.

Sasuke had told him to not go near Sakura. But how could he not? How could he stay away from the spell her eyes had him in the moment he saw them? They were like their own planet, with their own gravitational pull. Suigetsu knew Sasuke felt it. Why else would he tell him to stay away from her? He saw it in the Uchiha's eyes, the green flames burning behind them. He knew and refused to believe that they were jealousy. What would Sasuke—the great and almighty killer of Orochimaru—have to be jealous of? All Suigetsu wanted to do was protect her. She had pulled his heartstrings tightly around herself.

The swordsman shook his head and turned back to his own packing. He didn't have much. He just had to strap the broad sword to his back, grab his water bottle, and wait.

* * *

Sasuke walked over to Sakura, wondering faintly if Suigetsu was watching. A fire lighted in his stomach at the thought of Suigetsu, at the thought of the way he looked at Sakura. At the mention if Suigetsu's name, the boy's eyes appeared in his mind's-eye, a dark indigo with lust. And he reviled it. He hated that he had that image in his head, hated that Sakura had grown enough to get such a look from anyone. He hated that he hadn't been there for her while her large orbs darkened. He hated that maybe if he had been there for her, her eyes wouldn't have dimmed.

He hated that he still _cared_.

Still, that didn't stop him from laying one of his square hands on her shoulder, claiming her as his. His to watch, his to order, his keep; whether or not he wanted her was no one's business.

Sakura held back a shiver at the feel of his hand on her bare shoulder. She was still too hot to put on a shirt, although she doubted she would if she could. She didn't know if she'd trade the attention she was getting from Sasuke for a shelter in the middle of a blizzard. She loved it. She was lapping it up like a dehydrated horse lapped up water after a long day's ride.

Her immense willow eyes looked at Sasuke's shoulder-length hair. She didn't think it would be that long. She found a strange pleasure in knowing this wacky fact. It was still wet, like her own, and flat against his back. She found her way through his silky, midnight-sky hair to his bronze skinned face. "Sasuke," she sighed, "we're going to the lair, correct?"

Sasuke looked down at his hypnotized ex-teammate. "Yes," he said monotonously. He now watched not her but the trees. He was eager to get out of the woodland, into his luxurious bed where he could control more than just who liked who. Eager to get to the warren and plan out his vengeance. He didn't know if he would let Sakura kill Naruto—to be killed by the very hand that he once loved—or to kill the boy himself. He needed to be back into his plush office chair where he could lean back and just think.

Karin skipped over to the Uchiha, nothing but the bindings that kept her modesty alive on her back. The ridges of the bark she was leaning on marred her skin. Pain and jealousy crept out the spots between her teeth as she spread her lips out into a smile. "Sasuke-kun, we're going home?" she asked through the beam.

Sasuke's cold, uncaring eyes never left the foliage. His lips didn't move with an answer. His expression gave no indication of recognition. Sakura looked at Karin, remembering back when she was that weak. Back when even the smallest insult cut deep into her beating heart—never deep enough to stop her though, and she doubted it did Karin. Sakura still had hope of that friendship. Even one friend here in Team Taka, where the only friend she had was Sasuke and he wasn't a friend…just a person she knew, would boost her hopes. She thought back to when she came with them, remembering the way her heart leapt with joy when Sasuke had asked her to join them. "Yeah," Sakura answered kindly.

Karin's scarlet eyes stared at the hand on Sakura's shoulder. She pursed her lips and ignored her, walking away.

Sakura sighed and shrugged, leaning in to the strong feel of Sasuke's hand.

It didn't feel real. It didn't feel right. She just up and left Shikamaru and Kakashi. The edge of her eyes tightened as she reminded herself that they were villagers of Konoha. A murdering village. A village that thought nothing of stripping a little boy from his family in the worst way possible. A village that housed her father, the abusive bastard. The village that let her mother go without a second thought or search party. The village that was dwelling of Naruto, the blonde ex-teammate that wouldn't let Sasuke have his revenge. If the fair-haired boy had just let Sasuke get his closure, maybe she wouldn't want to kill him right now. Maybe her blood wouldn't boil at the thought of his nindō. To never go back on his word.

But didn't he, long ago, promise to never let Sasuke down? Didn't he swear it on his life? Didn't he go back on that word by not letting the Uchiha have his closure? Wasn't it time that he paid the price of it? Wasn't it time that the ninja own up to his actions?

Her blood bubbled through her veins as if every blood cell was made of white-hot acid. Her memories conflicted with her feelings. The memory of him holding her the first time she cried when Sasuke was gone…the hatred she felt on Sasuke's behalf. The memory of him risking his life for her…the loathing of him going back on his own nindō.

Sakura's head pulsed with confusion. All she knew was that she wanted him dead, wanted him unblinking, wanted all life out of his blue eyes. But her heart swelled at the idea, burst with pain, bled love. Her brain yearned it, welcomed it with open arms…

Kami, she didn't know which to listen to. She didn't know.

Her mother's nindō echoed in her brain, the perfect memory of the woman's voice, slick with her lisp, buried deep into Sakura's brain for the most troubling times. _The brain is not always right. The heart can be tricked. Trust no one. Not even yourself._

If she couldn't trust even herself, what could she do?

_Trust no one…_

Sakura trailed behind her two new teammates. She was just yards in front of Sasuke, who for one reason or another wouldn't let her behind him. She didn't understand—she had come willingly, why need he watch her as if she would run away at any second? She thought it would make more sense if Sasuke, the _leader_ of Taka, lead the way to his own lair.

But she didn't question it. At least, not aloud. Her mind was tangled in a messy cobweb of thoughts. Only her body followed Suigetsu, who was closest to her up front, while her mind was far, far off. Five years away, back when she was eleven, long after losing Sasuke to the snake. Back to the last day she saw her mother. The last day she was safe from her father.

* * *

[—**Flashback**—]

* * *

_Hebia's white hands rubbed themselves over each other, warming each other up over the fire. She laughed, her thin tongue running over her teeth, as she saw her daughter doing the same. At eleven years of age, she was so much more like a seven-year-old, seeking approval. "Sakura-chan, don't do that—your skin will get chafed," she warned._

_Sakura's bright green eyes looked out the window to the softly falling snow. She puffed out a breath, so warm that it heated the air before her into a cold steam. Her pink hair now fell down to her mid-back. She was letting it grow. "Mama," she complained, her pearly whites chattering in their own language of shivers, "it's so cold!"_

_Hebia laughed, wrapping her arms around Sakura. "I remember when you were seven. You used to love the cold, welcome it with a relish," she commented, her lisp evident in all the S's she pronounced. Strangely, her slender tongue dragged out the S like a snake._

_Sakura watched as Lerō*, their pet boa, whom Sakura named years ago after the color of his scales, slithered to the fire, curling up in front of it. "Yeah, well, I grew up!" she countered, leaning into the warmth her mother provided._

_Silence filled the room. The only sound was Lerō's comfortable hissing._

"_Hey, Mom?" Sakura broke the silence, her eyes turning from the sliding serpent to the evergreen tree._

_Hebia hummed her response, "Umhum?"_

_Sakura's thin, girlish throat clogged up. Her voice lowered to nothing but a whimper as she wormed the words out, "Do you have to go? I mean I know you _have_ to go, but can't you do it later? It's almost Christmas, Ma. Don't leave me with Papa." Her voice was beseeching, begging._

_Hebia's pallid fingers tightened around Sakura's shoulders protectively. Her voice tensed. "I don't want to, baby. But you know I have to. You know I'd rather leave you with Cousin Kimani and Aunt Rūsu*. But your father…"_

_Sakura sighed. "I know."

* * *

_

[—**Flashback**—]

* * *

Sakura noticed the acidic irony. If she had been let alone with Rūsu, perhaps she'd still be there today. Perhaps she would have never met the belt's unforgiving bite, never heard the whip's ominous snap. Perhaps she wouldn't have thrown her father in jail before leaving. Perhaps she would have actually gotten along with him. Perhaps…

Sakura blinked. She was tired of what ifs and could have beens. That was what had her here now, questioning her own thoughts.

* * *

Sasuke's expression remained unchanged when a through charka-scanning from Sakura proved there to be no building. He just nodded and motioned Suigetsu forward, staying directly behind Sakura. The swordsman's hands moved quickly around each other, hardly ever coming together. An untrained eye would say they never did. Sakura's eyes widened when sand dripped from the ground as it rose. It was a small tunnel, barely large enough for a person her own size to fit. It had been hidden so well, that she hadn't noticed it.

Karin walked into it, unchanged from her cold composure. Sakura shrugged and followed suit as Sasuke and Suigetsu trailed behind them.

Dark charka lighted their way, it's signature masked. Sakura, however, had a feeling it was Sasuke's by the way it leant towards him, as if trying to be reabsorbed into him.

The trail went on for miles. The click-click-clacking of their shoes were the only sound. The sounds ricocheted off the musky walls, traveling back to their ears in a matter of milliseconds. The flames of charka flickered in and out, leaving them blind for moments before relighting brighter than ever. They revealed the green that the beige was tinted with. Showed the dust layering the dry earth underfoot. Demonstrated the cracks in the dehydrated soil.

The air was polluted with grime. Dust particles swam in the atmosphere, dancing a marveling dance with two or three partners at a time. Hopping up into their noses and drifting back down. Coating their alveolus with little the dancers' little dust brethren.

By the time light, actual light, swept into the cavern, Sakura was surprised they didn't all have asthma. She took a deep breath of clean, dustless air.

Sasuke took a step in front of her and turned. "Sakura, follow Suigetsu. He's going to show you your room." Sakura shrugged, stepping aside to let the Mist's missing ninja along.

Karin sighed, giving on last longing look to Sasuke and then retreating to her room down one of the scarcely decorated walls.

Sasuke watched and waited until the three disappeared and turned the corner. He took one breath of the clean air, a relief from the stale, dusty air inside the passage. It didn't welcome him like he expected it to. It didn't fill his lungs with a lasting contentment. He sighed and turned his own corner to the office.

* * *

White hands fumbled over papers, straitening them. The open window blew in a feeble, cooling breeze, easing some of the perspiration on her neck. She sighed and looked around the muted room. The only color other than a sandy brown that decorated this office was a picture she had taken the liberty of framing. She remembered just how much the little girl in it loved her copy, and she figured the owner of the office treasure it as well if he had taken care of it for so long. The woman could honestly find no crease in it. No tuck, fold, or pleat. It had been five years since this picture was taken.

A long, slender colorless finger traced the girl's long pink locks and happy fisted hands under the protective glass. The woman smiled.

Had it really been just five years? It seemed like so much longer. Had it really been just half a decade since her brother had taken her from her abusive husband? Had it really been just a decade since she had left her daughter behind in his hands?

The pale woman sat down in the comfortable creaking chair and leaned over the desk, framed picture in hand. The sun sent a white glare of light onto the glass, bleaching part of the navy-haired boy's face and half of the rosette's hair clear.

Her chest drooped with sadness. Her fingers traced over the thin blue forehead protector that the little girl used as a headband. She remembered the first day the girl had brought it home. The mirthful sparkle in her green eyes, the flighty jumping, the iron-tight grip on its metal band… She had left that all behind.

Tears rolled down her white cheeks, running over the violet birthmarks running vertical her nose. They were hot and remorseless, ruthlessly reminding her of the mistake she would never make up. She couldn't go back now, to her callous husband. Would he even care that she was deemed kidnapped—as far as she knew—? Would he place all the blame on her shoulders?

Later, she resolved, she would go back. When she had time to explain. When her child was old enough to understand. She would bring her away from her father; bring her where safety was a reliable factor. At least in Oto, no one would dare mess with the well-protected sister of the late Snake Lord. In Konoha, they all judged her by her brother's deeds. Here, they respected her for them. She liked it _here_, even when all her loved ones were over there. The only one she honest to goodness cared about would be better off at Konoha. Worst come to worst and she need to fight alongside the Sound, she would kill herself first. Anything to not fight her daughter. _Anything_. And Oro knew that—Oro _respected_ that.

Tears, hot and unrelenting, streamed down faster. She sighed and traced the outline of the girl once more.

"Hebia."

The woman jumped, her tears running faster at the scare. She swallowed and gave a weak smile at her brother's protégé. Honestly, as sad as she was about his death, she was glad it was given to him. He had gone too deep into the pool of insanity. "Sasuke-san," she greeted, whipping the tears from her cheeks.

Sasuke watched her. He hadn't noticed before her rounded features. Hadn't noticed her girlish qualities. Hadn't noticed the bright green eyes, exact reflections of Sakura's. He gritted his teeth. "Crying again," he said, walking over to where the woman sat. Hebia stood from the chair and Sasuke sat.

Hebia sniffled. "Yeah. I miss my little girl."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Why did you leave her then?" _Leave her to suffer,_ he added mentally. _Leave her to cry. Leave her to hurt._

Hebia swallowed noisily. "It was better for her in Konoha," she defended. "But I wish it wasn't."

"Hn…" Sasuke grunted, studying his map. He hadn't noticed the picture, lying helplessly on the large desk.

The click of boots had Hebia rubbing at her wet cheeks, desperate to appear as strong as her older twin. "Sasuke," a feminine voice called happily. The woman froze at the voice. Even after five years of maturing, it still had that innocent edge to it. "Can I see that Team Seven picture, Naru—"

Sakura congealed at the doorway. She knew those long, rounded features. Knew those dark purple birthmarks. Recognized those slender arms. Could discern that white skin. Identified those thick, bloodred lips. Detect that black hair. Perceive big green eyes. Knew those thin, long pupils. Her smile slipped. Her jaw quivered. "M…ma…mama?" she stuttered.

* * *

**Daughter…mother…deep.**

**R&R now.**


	15. Chapter 15

**The only Japanese will be names and cuss words. And they still will have the asterisks (*) and translations in at the bottom. If they're not here, they're in a previous chapter.**

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**http : / / www . fanfiction . net / s / 6677059 / 1 / How _ To _ Fail _ a_ Kidnapping**

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* * *

Robāto's thin, sinister lips curved down to a frown. His blue eyes watched as Naruto's tanned hands rubbed around each other. They looked ready to tear the bars that separated them apart and jump right into his cell to choke the life out of him. The redhead tsk'd, "Think of how sad that would make our precious medic."

Naruto's hands jumped apart, one drifted to his side while the other ran through his silk strands of hair. The locks of yellow hair shined even in the damp light that illuminated the hallway. Sweat trickled down his forehead. Hate it as he might, Naruto knew that the abuser was right. Sakura still loved him. He was her father. Naruto didn't want to cause her that much pain, no matter how justified it was. "You're lucky she loves you. My license to kill never expires. Remember that," he warned. "Tsunade says your trial is whenever Sakura-chan comes back. Be ready."

Robāto laughed a full mocking laugh. "What evidence will my charming daughter have against me?" he asked, his voice sarcastic. Naruto ignored him, walking down the hall, back to whence he came. The redhead raised his voice and shouted, "There's no evidence, boy!"

Naruto's single word echoed through the hall, loud and clear for all the Haruno's cellmates to hear. It sent shivers down each of their backs. "Witnesses."

* * *

Hebia's heart sprinted, fast as lightening, when she laid eyes on her little girl. She had grown so much. She had cut her hair. Her face had matured. Her necks lengthened, turned swanlike. Then it stopped altogether. Hebia's chest felt hollow. She had missed this. She had missed when she developed. She had missed her boy-crushes. She hadn't been there to protect her. She hadn't been there to teach her. She hated herself for it.

Hesitantly, as if she didn't know whether it was a dream or not, Hebia took a step forwards to her taller child. "Sakura, baby?" she asked weakly.

The teenage girl's eyes filled with water. Her throat clogged up with five years worth of emotion. Her heart swelled. She wanted to run to the woman, wanted to feel the warmth of her embrace, wanted to cry into her shoulders like she used to; but her joints locked in place. Even as she nodded, her neck muscles complained in protest. She couldn't believe it. Her mother, whom Konoha had deemed a lost cause, in Sasuke's office? In Oto? Could it be? Was her mind playing tricks on her? Was her need to see her mother that overwhelming that she was seeing things?

The white-skinned woman swallowed and took the last steps towards her daughter, remembering the code she had lived by. _The mind is not always right…_ But the warmth that Sakura radiated, it was real. Hebia took a deep breath of Sakura's natural, washed sent. She was really, truly here. The excitement had Hebia's arms wrapped around Sakura's shoulders before she knew it. She felt like the child, for her daughter had grown just inches taller, but she didn't care. Sakura's elegant arms wormed tight around her mom's waist.

"Mama," Sakura breathed, taking in her mother's worn expression. It looked like so much more than five years had passed by the dozens of wrinkles lining Hebia's smaller forehead. "Mama, why'd you leave me, mama?" she couldn't help but ask. Steaming tears followed the question from both sets of green eyes.

Hebia couldn't breathe. She couldn't see beyond the pink of Sakura's hair. She couldn't think further than the joy of having her little girl back. She couldn't feel past the pain of leaving her behind. Right now, she didn't remember the reason. It couldn't have been important enough to rip one of her two joys from her side. She hated that, whatever the reason, she had thought that it was.

"I'm so sorry."

Sasuke watched as Sakura withered into her mother's embrace. He loved the joy he knew they both felt. And he hated how much he loved it. He looked down at his desk, feeling like he was intruding in a personal moment. But this was his new "teammate," his new mind toy, his new weapon. He had the right to know whatever it was going on through her mind at any moment of the day. Still, he thought it enough to just be here and not be kicked out by Hebia. Not that he would listen, but just the same.

Cruel as he was, he would never slash a child from its mother. He had been through that pain. It was an unimaginable agony that he would have to live with for the rest of his life. He would never put someone else in that type of pain. Though he hated it—loathed it with anger beyond belief—his heart still clung to the past, still throbbed for love, still ached for Team Seven. That was why he had long ago stopped listening to it; instead, he paid attention to his mind.

He felt awkward. An unwanted, unnoticed guest in the two's reunion. But where the jigoku else was he going to go? This was his office!

Hebia sniffled and pulled away. Tears still streamed nonstop down her white cheeks, leaving even whiter trails where they passed. She took another good look at her daughter's tear-streaked face. Her mind couldn't get over how much she'd grown in just five years. Of course she'd known that Sakura wouldn't stay the same forever; somehow, a part of her hoped that she had only gotten taller, that she could see her progress when she someway managed to get her back to Oto.

The older woman's green eyes flashed to Sasuke for a brief second or two. She seemed to register where they were at the sight of his flat hair—it wasn't in its usual chicken-butt style, and she figured it had something to do with a recent bath. "Honey, baby," Hebia coughed, her throat dry, "let's go to my room. I want to know everything."

Sakura swallowed back the knot in her esophagus and nodded, her eyesight still clogged with saltwater.

* * *

Naruto stood at attention in Tsunade's office alongside Shikamaru and Kiba, behind Kakashi. It had taken the better part of an hour to get Kakashi off the sofa, but it was a mission that had to be done. The poor copy-nin had been thoroughly knocked out. He was still deprived of charka.

Tsunade's hazel eyes carefully watched the four she had called. A strategist, a tracker, a Naruto, and a copy-ninja. She still wasn't sure about the Naruto. But…every team needed a clown did it not? Besides, the poor blonde would get beyond okotte if he weren't on the team. She sighed at the grayish bags under Kakashi's visible dark eye.

"Kakashi. Shikamaru. Kiba. Naruto," Tsunade started, addressing them all by age. "This involves Sasuke." The godaime waited for Naruto's usual outburst, surprised when nothing came. Maybe visiting Sakura's bastard father really shook him up. "We need to find him, now more than ever. He got _in_." She said this as if it was new information. "I wouldn't do this if it wasn't entirely necessary," she sighed, her eyes on Kakashi, "but it is, so I have to. You can accept, or you can decline. But remember, the closer Sasuke gets to us, the closer he is to Sakura."

Kiba's eyes widened. Sakura was the last of the Senshi* clan, though her blood was mixed. She was the last one who still had even the possibility of entering the World. She was the last one, at least, who still sided with Konoha. With her on their side, they had the upper hand, even if the Sound had the others. They wouldn't hurt one of their own.

The others' faces remained unchanged. It was one of Konoha's best-guarded secrets—that they had one of the last Senshi within their walls. So well kept that Sakura herself didn't know it. She knew of the Senshi's kekki genkai, its hypnotizing power…the power the sound of the user's voice had…but she didn't know that she had the power to unlock it. As long as the world remained oblivious to it, they were fine. The only ones who knew were the trusted ninja of Konoha, and only a selected few handful. The one who knew and was not here was kidnapped long ago, let go without a search party because of her Senshi ancestry.

"She's our only hidden weapon," Tsunade stressed.

Naruto blinked. He knew full well that he didn't fall under the classification of "hidden" because everyone knew Konoha had him, but what had him shocked was that he wasn't going to be here when she got home. His tanned lips turned to a sharp grimace. "What if we're not back by the time Sakura-chan gets home?" he worried.

Tsunade exhaled somberly, "Then I guess Sai will have to be there for her. I know you don't want to leave her alone, Naruto, and you don't have to. Sai'll take your place if you want." Her voice softened as she offered.

The Uzumaki's azure eyes stoned at the thought. He had promised to bring Sasuke back. "No," he said, his voice soft and worrying. "No, Sai and Ino will be there for her." His heart throbbed at the thought of Sakura's pink lips turned to a frown when she realized that he wasn't there. But what about the smile that she would have if he returned with Sasuke, he reminded himself.

Tsunade nodded. "Leave at midnight, okay?" she asked, more of an order. The four gave a sharp, united nod and poofed out.

* * *

Sakura's wrist kneaded at her rosy cheeks, whipping away at her flushed cheeks. One of her arms wrapped around her legs, the other rubbing at her cheeks. She had stopped crying, but her sobs still escaped every now and then. She took a deep breath, swallowing, and asked, "Mama, why didn't you try to leave?"

Hebia's tear-streaked face remained unchanged. "Because you were better off at Konoha. Because your friends were there and you were too young to understand. Because I needed you to understand before I had Orochimaru bring you here," she said, spaciously.

Sakura's heart sank to her stomach, digging her deeper into the feathers of her mother's bed. Her voice croaked out, "Before you what? Didn't he take you here…"

The woman's green eyes dimmed, turning a shade darker than her daughter's. She hadn't remembered that Sakura didn't know. "No," she sighed, "no, your uncle didn't make me come. I had him pick me up…"

Sakura's eyes looked down at her booted feet. Her painted toes wiggled at her and her stomach, full with her heart, sank deeper into her body. "Un…uncle?" she repeated, pausing briefly, unsure if she heard her right. She snaked her other arm around thin, strong legs. "Mama, Orochimaru-teme isn't…" There was so much she didn't know about her family. It made her doubt her knowledge. "Is he?" Thinking back to Orochimaru's face, she compared it with her mother's. Sakura bit her lip, fearing the answer.

"Sakura," Hebia sighed, sitting on the corner of her quill-stuffed bed, "don't call him that. Didn't you put it together? We look so much alike—we're identical twins, after all." The woman refused to look at her daughter. Instead, she searched the stony floor, finding it interesting after all these years. Had that swirl always been there?

Sakura reached out to her wriggling toes, playing with them. She waited for further explanation.

"Baby girl, you don't remember much about him, do you?" she asked, obviously a rhetorical question. "I remember when you were little—around two years. Oreo-nii-san would give you piggyback rides. Before he left. You were three when he left. You cried for him so hard. It broke my heart."

Sakura's mind flashed with the memory of white skin and a scary yet comforting smile. The memory was so dim; she didn't know it belonged to Orochimaru. She had always thought it belonged to her mother when she thought about it. She remembered thin white lips curling up into a loving and scary smile. She had always thought that they belonged to someone from a dream.

"He loved you so much. He was the one that gave you that nickname—"

Hebia was interrupted by Sakura's voice. "Pinky…" Sakura murmured. She had loved that nickname.

"Yes. And you gave him the nickname Oreo." Hebia's red lips, so bright against her white skin, curled to a gentle smile and she looked up at Sakura from the floor. "You couldn't say Orochimaru." Sakura watched her mother's eyes as they slowly lit up with happy memories. "I always thought it was fitting. No one remembers when Oreo lived with us, long ago. No one cares that he was one of the good guys, that he did the good things for us." Hebia's green eyes darkened again, as if storm clouds had driven in and overpowered the sun inside them. "Then, one day, he just…stopped. He didn't feel like doing things for a country that did respect him because he looked odd.

"Oreo went off, gave us both one last hug, and left," Hebia sighed. Sakura watched as her mother told the story. It all made so much sense. It was why Orochimaru didn't want to hurt her…it was why when they fought he paid no attention to her… It wasn't because he thought her unworthy, but because he loved her too much. "He started doing things that hurt the village. When you were eleven, I saw him again. I was on a mission. He offered to take us with him. He always did know me too well. I guess he saw my dark eyes. I told him okay…" Hebia stopped and watched Sakura's reaction. Her eyes were wide and sad. "But I told him you had to come with us. The next mission I had, he picked me up. It was when I 'went missing'. I told him we had to get you. I begged. He told me you were better off in Konoha. When we got here, I almost bit his head off. I kept begging, ordering, him to get you. Then Oreo told me you were becoming a medic ninja. I realized he was right. I told myself I would get you when you were older…when you could understand."

Sakura hardly breathed. "You told me never to trust anyone…" she accused.

Hebia scooted closer to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Baby, I loved him enough to believe, not trust. Sometimes it's not about trust… Its love." Sakura nodded. Her mother, however cynical, was a big sucker for love—especially family love. Hebia sighed and went on, her eyes vacant, as if she was years away. "Then Sasuke—he used to be so sweet, I understand your little crush on him; I myself love him as if he were my own son—killed Orochimaru. I hated to say this, but…I was relieved. My Oreo-nii-san had gone too deep in the pool of insanity, he could hardly tell the truth for lies. All he wanted was to live forever, to learn everything. On the way, he got lost…he went insane. The inbreeding caught up to him…"

"In…breeding…?" Sakura rolled the word around in her mouth, tasting it as if it were an anko dumpling. She didn't like the taste of this dumpling.

Hebia pulled the girl closer into her chest, as if by doing so she could protect her from all evil—even her family. "Yes. Inbreeding. You learned about this in preschool. How the Senshi Clan inbred to keep the bloodline 'pure.' It got to your uncle."

Sakura felt weak and flaccid. Why hadn't she been told this when she was little? Why had they felt the need to hide her ancestry from her? So, she was a Senshi. She remembered Tsunade saying something about an heir to the traitorous clan being out there somewhere. She remembered begging to find her, and Tsunade refusing. She couldn't find the heir if she _was_ the heir. Tsunade must've known.

"Sakura, I hate telling you this, I really do, baby," Hebia sighed, feeling herself curve protectively over her daughter, "but there's a reason no one told you. There's a reason I haven't told you till just now." The woman took a deep breath. "They're afraid that if you found out, you'd side with Orochimaru. I was afraid that you'd go as crazy as Oreo if you went with him. That's also why I didn't go after you harder."

Sakura bobbed her head. Did Sasuke know all of this? Is that why he asked for her to come? To reunite her with her mother? What about the kekkei genkai? "What about the Tāru?"

Hebia kissed the crown of Sakura's head, now resting face-up on her lap. "The kekkei genkai is the problem—it comes around only to the women. I mean, think about it—a man with a sugar-sweet voice? Anyway, Konoha's hoping you'll get it soon. It comes from the ages of sixteen to twenty. Sometimes it doesn't come. I don't have it. My mother had it."

Sakura turned in her mother's lap, turning to stare at the loose purple shirt she wore. Sakura's pink fingers played with the hem. "Only if you have some terrible accident. That's what Tsunade told me. Maybe you didn't get it because you didn't have one," Sakura suggested.

"No, hon, it skips a generation. I have no doubt that you'll eventually get it. You have five years. Your kids won't get it though. Their kids might, unless they get another kekkei genkai. They might get both," Hebia sighed. She looked down at her daughter, playing with her shirt. "Look at me," she begged. Sakura turned her head. Hebia sighed; she had missed those eyes. "If I told you the real reason why I left, would you hate me, honey?"

"Never." She had lived too many years without her to hate her. Too many years of missing her. Too many years of depression.

Hebia swallowed as tears built up in her eyes. "Do you remember that Kiba boy?" Sakura slowly nodded. Where in the world was this headed? "His dad and I…we were drunk… It was a Christmas party, a week before I left, three days before I told Oreo I wanted to go with him."

Sakura's hesitation stopped. "You…and Kiba's dad… Wait, you mean Kiba and I have a…" She couldn't say it. She didn't know how to phrase it.

"Yes. And I love him as much as I love you. He's four years old." Hebia gently lifted Sakura's head, her eyes filled with love, and stood. "Come on. Burūsu*'s asleep. He likes his naps."

Here, on her mother's bed, watching the twinkle in the woman's eyes, Sakura almost didn't care that her mother had cheated. She almost didn't care that she was related to Orochimaru—Uncle Oreo, as she now recalled. She almost didn't mind that her family inbred. She almost didn't heed that she was at risk for psychosis. She almost didn't care that she was part of one of the most renowned clans in history. She _almost_ didn't care.

* * *

Suigetsu sat in his bed. It was stiff from misuse. He _loved_ to "misuse" his beds with concubines and the like.

At least, he used to. He didn't know anymore. It had been two days since he hadn't been in this bed. He didn't like it as much as he used to. He used to think it was so fluffy and comfortable. Now it was stiff and on edge. It was lumpy and useless. He had tried laying on it, but his back squawked its protest with shots of agony.

He realized it wasn't the bed. It was him. He had become used to the feathery softness of the Hyūga mansion's bedding. He missed his bed; he missed the maids; he missed the blistering warmth of Konoha; jigoku, he even missed the room he shared with Karin! _With Karin!_ Doesn't that say something?

What was up with Sakura? She had barely given him a second glance. He didn't like it.

* * *

Karin sighed and fell backwards onto her bed, welcoming the lumpy plush of it. She wanted to be wrapped in warmth and suffocated with comfort.

Seconds later, her fatigue took over. Her eyes closed and her head felt lighter. Soon, she couldn't think about the lovey-dovey goop inside Sasuke and Suigetsu's eyes when Sakura was mentioned. Or the way Sasuke pushed her off like nothing but an annoying child. Or how Suigetsu didn't pay attention to her. She was lost in her own little dream world.

* * *

**Senshi—warrior Tāru—turl**

**Burūsu—Bruce**

**R&R now. Thank you.**


	16. Chapter 16

**The only Japanese will be names and cuss words. And they still will have the asterisks (*) and translations in at the bottom. If they're not here, they're in a previous chapter.**

**_READ THIS:_**

**http : / / www . fanfiction . net / s / 6677059 / 1 / How _ To _ Fail _ a_ Kidnapping**

* * *

Pale brown skin stared up at Sakura's green eyes. On the boy's cheeks were the red marks of the Inuzuka Clan. A cute, little, round nose glistened with green boogers. A green blush covered the boy's skin. Sakura frowned as her heart ballooned with worry. Her own pale hand pressed against the greenish brown of the boy's forehead. It wasn't as big as his half-sister's; it was rather small and helpless, like the rest of his greenish body. The back of Sakura's hand burned with the heat of his temple.

"Mama," the rosette worried, flipping her hand over to be sure of his rising heat, "he's got a fever."

Hebia leaned over the small bed. "Yes, has had one for a while. He gets sick when the seasons change," she explained. Her extensive black locks flowed over her shoulders as she fingered one of the boy's own dark locks.

Sakura nodded, understanding. "Does he have the lisp like you do?" she asked, curious. She hadn't ever met this boy before. He was so small and innocent looking. It was hard to believe that he was part of her family. He didn't have the determined crease in his forehead like her mother did. He didn't have the square chin their uncle had. He didn't have the worry-lines tracing the edges of his eyes. She wondered if he had the bright green eyes that she and her mom did.

"Actually, yes," Hebia answered, a smile lifting the sides of her cheeks further. Her eyes turned from her son to her daughter. Her eyes stoned with pride. "I told him he had a sister. I told him that she was beautiful and kind. He wants so much to meet you; he already loves you."

Sakura smiled. Her emerald fingernails raked over Burūsu's spiked, jet-black hair. She ignored the love remark, not knowing what to say to that, and said instead, "I want to too," she said. "He looks a lot more like Te* than you though."

Hebia nodded. "Burūsu has my eyes, vertical slits and all."

The rosette's smile widened. She could hardly keep herself from shaking the cute little boy awake. This beautiful, adorable little stranger had her blood running through him—at least half of it. The tiny stranger loved her. The puny, ill stranger already had a room for her in the halls of his heart. Sakura wanted to give the boy a chance. She wanted to love him too.

* * *

Sasuke took a look around his office. The dreary walls were lined with sunshine. The scrolls were whiter than when he had left them, something he knew Hebia had to do with. He would have to thank her later…

What the jigoku? Thank? He was thinking of _thanking_ someone? He hadn't thanked someone since he was, come to think of it, thirteen. The last person he thanked was…Sakura. For caring about him, for worrying, for loving…

He would thank no one for nothing. The dim light glared off a frame and onto his dark eyes. Sasuke squinted and grabbed the frame. Team Seven. The white glare from the sun moved to and fro with the sunlight. Sasuke's heart squeezed with remembrance. This was the team he had left behind. His finger tapped the glass in front of Kakashi's sarcastic smile, covered with his facemask. This was the sensei he had traded for Orochimaru—for Hebia's brother, for, apparently, Sakura's uncle. Then tan of his finger ran down the glass, stopping at Naruto's angry expression, enveloped in more anger. This was the best friend he had traded for Suigetsu—for a swordsman hitting on Sakura, for a strange person who points finger-guns in the nude. Sasuke's unsympathetic expression turned to a gentle frown. This was the girl he had traded for Karin—for an idiot redhead, for a jealousy-prone scared little girl.

Sasuke's frown stoned over at the sight of his weak scowl. This—this little boy, innocent and misunderstood—was the boy he had traded for a soulless man—a man, who on the inside still was a misunderstood teen, deny it at he might. This boy, who was willing to kill his hometown. This boy, who's idea of "fun" was headless Hokage and severed Elders. This boy, whose heart warred with his mind. This boy, who thought nothing of killing his old friends. This boy, who was using the girl he once had a crush on, small as it was, to kill his best friend. This boy, who held a friendship with the devil. This boy, who was as soulless as the devil himself.

You know, he remembered believing in Kami* once, long ago. Long before his family died, long before Itachi provoked him. Back when he hoped. Kami…he's for the hopeless, not for those with love or those who've lost. Have you seen a beautiful woman spend a second more at mass than needed? Have you ever seen a wealthy man kneel to Kami? Have you ever seen lovers kiss before the Lord's house? Have you ever seen the widows line up before the cross to help their husbands' way?

No, because He never answers. Never does He respond.

The lovely pray to no such "god," the wealthy implore to no "divine one," the miserable beg for no clemency from Kami.

Temptation overpowers the stunning. Technology the rich. Hormones the adored. Sadness the mourning.

All of which are powers of Akuma*.

It is said that Kami loves all his creatures, but it is also said that Akuma allures his pray with interest. But no one follows Kami.

Because, yes, Kami loves his mortals—but Akuma takes interest in them. Akuma helps. Akuma offers aid, temporary as it might be. Yes, humans are imperfect, and, yes, Akuma does feed off that. But the small inducement fuels hope, feeds helplessness to make it blossom into happiness.

Kami loves. Akuma cares.

* * *

Hardly any sunlight made its way through the east wing of the hideout. The sun was sinking into earth, marking the end of yet another day. The light of twilight made scarcely enough to brighten the small the room. Suigetsu sighed and leaned through the window, watching the horizon. He couldn't see the sun, but he could see its dwindling light.

The orange melted into the pink seamlessly, the pink with the blue, the blue with the black. Tonight was going to be another moonless night in Oto, as was proven by the black of the night. The afternoon sky's blue was taking another nap with the sun.

Suigetsu used to think that the pink of sunset was brightest pink in the world. _Used to_. Until he saw the neon highlights of Sakura's hair, the baby pink undertones, the purple-pink lowlights.

He wondered if Naruto, or even the famous copy ninja, ever noticed. He noticed the way Naruto looked at Sakura, with an intensity that would have one thinking he was scared of losing her, have one thinking that she was his all. As if she was his last hope. Naruto had said something about his parents dying. Sui bent over the windowsill with a gasp. That was the twinkle in the blonde's eyes. That was the fear. Naruto had idolized Sakura as a mother figure… That was why he was so fearful of losing her. Sakura had become Naruto's sister and mother.

Sasuke knew that. Sasuke _knew_ that Naruto couldn't function without Sakura. And he wanted to use that.

It didn't feel right. To take advantage of someone so open to love. Someone so happy-go-lucky. Someone so careless, childish. It felt like taking advantage of himself. But what could he do? March into Sasuke's office and demand to take Sakura back—and get himself _killed_ in the process? No, no, no. He would find out how to do it, how to take Sakura back, somehow, even if it took years.

Because that goofball had been through too much, and it showed in his blithe eyes.

* * *

Robāto glared at his small, barred window. The moon was up, at least here in Kohona, and it was warring with the sun's perky shine. The sun was loosing, sinking. The redhead remembered Hebia had taught him to tell time by the sun. He laughed at the memory, piteous with himself. He had learned something from a woman. It was laughable, yet true. He, the wondrous Haruno Robāto, blacksmith of Kohona, had learned something from that short, sad excuse for a woman. Still, he was glad for the skill. It had to be 9:30, 9:40 around.

He remembered his wedding, having nothing else to do.

Hebia looked washed out in white. Her skin was white. He remembered having this fight with her about the color of her wedding dress. She had wanted it purple, and she wanted her foolish brother giving her away instead of her mother—her father was dead. What was the boy's name? Orlando—Oreo—Orochimaru? Something with an "Or". In the end, Hebia had won. Her dress had been purple. Her brother had handed her over.

Robāto hadn't wanted to get married, he recalled. He had done it because it was the better of the three options her brother had given her, which were: jail, death, or marriage. He had given Hebia a bastard child. One who wasn't yet born on the wedding. One with pink hair and green eyes. One who had yet to visit her poor old father, rotting away in jail. Oh, the irony. He should have chosen prison in the first place. He wouldn't be a widower in penitentiary if he had right now.

He hated how Sakura hadn't yet visited. Lock him up and not brag? That wasn't like his daughter at all…he thought. He honestly didn't know. And he was proud of it. The little bitch didn't deserve him to remember.

* * *

Naruto tapped his foot impatiently. 9:45. _Nine fricken' forty-five!_ Sai said 9:30! It's been fifteen minutes, for Kami's sake! He needed to talk to the ROOT _now_, not in ten minutes, not in five minutes, or in two seconds—he needed the ROOT _now_!

The blonde pounded on the door, completely okotte. "_Sai_!" he shouted. The door creaked open. Sai's childish features greeted him. The boy yawned and stretched, his belly-shirt ridding up on his chest. "Sai, its early. You told me thirty not forty-five! Send a messenger or something when Sakura gets back. And don't depress her this weekend! Or I swear by the love of Kami that you'll be ball-less! No calling her Ugly, Fathead, Queen Death, Dr. Hell, or any other nicknames you can come up with! I will hear of it and I _will_ hurt you! Tell Ino to let you go for a few minutes and hang out with Sakura. Got it?"

Sai yawned. This felt like the handing over of a child to another parent in a custody war or something. Or the exchanging hands of a precious family urn. Or the selling of some antique painting. "Got it, dickless."

Naruto glared at the black-haired boy. He shook his head and just sighed, not having time for this. He wanted badly to punch Sai and disagree, but he wanted ten times more to get out of Kohona and find Sasuke.

* * *

Sakura looked up the sunless, moonless sky out of the window of her newfound brother's open window. This was the same sky she used to comfort herself with by saying that Sasuke was out there. Now, she wondered what he was doing instead of if he was alive. Again, the worry seemed idiotic. He was Sasuke Uchiha, of the Uchiha Clan. No one could hurt him.

Sakura sighed at the sky and turned to her mother, who was watching Burūsu yawn awake. She gave a little giggle at her mother's loving expression, remembering that not too long ago, just seconds, that same intensity was used for her. The rosette walked to her mother and leaned over the crib's railing, watching in amazement as Burūsu's eyes squeezed tight and his little mouth opened into a big O. His limbs fisted—his cute little toes curling—and stretched. He gave the cutest little yawn. Sakura couldn't resist. She picked the little boy up and hopped him up on her hip.

"Hey, Burūsu," she cooed to the five-year-old.

At the voice, green eyes, very similar to snake eyes, widened in fear. It took seconds for his eyes to fill completely with saltwater. "Mama?" he asked lowly, fearfully. He didn't know who had lifted him. He was scared. "Mama!" he called out.

Hebia ran her fingers through his hair. The boy had to have seen her; he was just scared is all. "I'm right here, Burūsu."

The black-haired boy leaned away from Sakura. His arms went from the stranger's chest to thrashing around for his mother. "Mama, up! Mama, away!" he shouted, wanted to get away from the stranger.

"No, love," Hebia tsk'd. "Do you remember the sister I told you about?" she asked, her eyes pleading. The boy nodded, stealing a peek at Sakura. "Her name is Sakura." The boy nodded again. Hebia placed a hand on Sakura's back. "This is Sakura."

The boy's snakelike eyes widened and he threw his arms around Sakura weakly. "Hi, nee-sama*!"

* * *

**R&R! Enjoy!**

**Te—manus (another word for "fang," which is what Kiba's name means)**

**Kami—God**

**Akuma—Devil**

**Nee-sama—short for Onee-sama, or sister.**

**NOTE:**

**"using the girl he once had a crush on, small as it was"—In the episode in which Sakura _almost_ kisses Sasuke, he is thinking that, and I quote, _'This is why I like Sakura so much'_. It does not exactly say that he has a crush on her, but it does imply that he has some sort of feeling for her.**

**No offence to Christians, or any other faith. I myself am a Christian (to some degree as you have seen in my stories…), I just try to write in Sasuke's POV.**


	17. Chapter 17

**I have been corrected. You wanna know on what? Look in my reviews. :) Anywho, for the sake of this story, let us pretend it _was_ Sasuke and not Naruto. :)**

**The only Japanese will be names and cuss words. And they still will have the asterisks (*) and translations in at the bottom. If they're not here, they're in a previous chapter.**

**_READ THIS:_**

**http : / / www . fanfiction . net / s / 6677059 / 1 / How _ To _ Fail _ a_ Kidnapping**

* * *

Sakura smiled at the boy's neck. She couldn't see his face, for it was in the crook of her shoulder, still hugging her. Burūsu sniffed at her shoulder and laughed. "Nee-sama," he giggled sleepily, "you smell like soap…"

Sakura's green eyes sparkled at the boy's comment. He laughed sleepily again. It was obviously not a good time to wake him; he was too sleepy, too sick. She would have to make him something for her fever later. After she took a nap. It had been a long day of traveling.

The Haruno pushed her Inuzuka brother on her hip to support him better. The rosette smiled at the boy. He was already dozing off. Sakura looked over to her mother, asking, "Can he sleep in my room today?" Hebia smiled and nodded; after all, what was one day?

Sakura cooed at her brother. The black-haired youngster was already drooling on her shirtless shoulder. He was so cute, but he didn't last long awake. But, after all, he did have a fever. Kami knew that when she was sick, no one could get her out of bed for a good week. Sakura giggled at the wet cold that slipped over her shoulder. Good Kami, she needed to sleep with rubber sheets today.

The rosette girl smiled and gave a hug to her mother, and walked to her room.

* * *

Shikamaru glared at the trees before him. The sky was moonless in the forest because the sky was nothing more than leaf after leaf. There was no charka at all. Sasuke could've gone one way or another. Or he might not have been here at all. It was possible, considering the fact that it _wasn't_ him that Shikamaru saw hopping houses. The Uchiha could be at his old hideout, or at another hideout, or _dead_, for all they knew. However, the Uchiha's death was very improbable. Who else would command the swordsman to spy on Sakura?

Thinking like the avenger, it made sense not to spy directly on Naruto. It would be too obvious. And knowing Uchiha's battle tactics, brains, and selfishness, it would be he himself to come spy. His egocentricity always did interfere with his better judgment. If the man was weaker than Konohagakure's thirteen hundred thousand, they would wait around for his selfish personality to drag him into the mighty and just hands of the Elders; but Uchiha Sasuke _was_ stronger than Konoha's thirteen hundred thousand. Should he get caught, he would be able to fight them off and escape with his life—barely, but living nonetheless. Waiting for a man that strong to come to Konoha would endanger the lives of the villagers as well.

But they had to bring him back. They couldn't wait for him to come, because it was credible that he would come with a mêlée plan, but they could haul him back in charka-proof chains. Other than that, who's to say that the Uchiha doesn't know that he left behind a valuable tool the day he left? Who's to say that Uchiha Sasuke didn't figure out that he left behind Haruno Sakura, the last of the Senshi Clan? Who's to say that Sakura wouldn't go with him willingly? Sakura was a great shinobi, wonderful in every way, but she loved too much for too long. She may already love Sasuke more than her village.

Shikamaru waited for the leader to give an order.

"We're headed for the edge of the Fire Country!" Kakashi shouted, half a mile ahead of them. "Sasuke's last hideout was found there."

Sakura had told him about the lair before she left for her last mission. Previous teams had found nothing. This was troublesome. If a team of ten ANBU couldn't find a thing, what made Kakashi think that a ragtag team of four jonin would find something different? The odds were against them.

Naruto shouted, "Is that were Sakura-chan found the key chain!" The blonde was answered with a yes, shouted half a mile away. Naruto grinned and ran faster, jumping from tree to tree to speed up, Kiba and Shikamaru behind him.

Sakura had found something there, Naruto remembered. Something with Sasuke's DNA on it. Something that Sasuke himself had owned. If Tsunade could find Sasuke's fingerprints on it, Sasuke was there recently. It meant that there was hope that Sasuke _could_ be there now, looking for his house keys.

Naruto's lips pursed and his eyebrows creased. Had he just put "Sasuke" and "house keys" together in the same sentence? It sounded too normal for Sasuke. It was odd. Naruto shook the thought from his head and returned to the messed up train of thought that had paired the words "Sasuke" and "house keys."

If Sasuke was there, this mission could be cut into thirds. With Sasuke in Konoha hands, another war could be prevented, people made happy and safe, and the world would be back to normal. Like in the good old days when the worst thing Konoha had to worry about were a teenage Uzumaki planting pranks in every corner, a sad emo boy, and an overactive rosette.

It was sad how things had changed to permanently in just a few years.

If, however, Sasuke wasn't at the old hideout—which was more than likely—Naruto would just have to work harder to bring back the good old days, now wouldn't he? It wasn't even about the promise he made Sakura anymore, to bring Sasuke back. It wasn't even about the promise he made himself. Now, more than ever, it was about the promise he had made Sasuke. He had promised to never let him down, to never let him go. And, if Naruto had anything to say about it, that promise would be the best-kept promise in the history of promises. Right now, Sasuke-teme may see Naruto as an obstacle to overcome, but in years or even, Kami permitting, months, he would see that the blonde was only ever trying to help.

Naruto just hoped he would be able to forgive himself for dragging the Uchiha back in a bloody pulp if he had to.

* * *

Sasuke glared out his familiar widow.

How many times had he glared out it, waiting for battle plans to make themselves known in his mind? How many times had he stared out it, his gaze empty, waiting for inspiration to hit? How many times had he murderously ogled at the stars, wanting nothing more that to be eight again and be able to stop his family's murder? How many times had he thrown shuriken out into the empty night, just emptily hoping that Itachi would grab them and throw them back like he did when they were kids?

But no. Plans never made themselves known in this room. Inspiration hated this room. He was never eight again. Itachi would never come back. History would not change for one clan, let alone one man. This office was useful for nothing but reminiscing in the past and regretting it. But he regretted nothing, no matter what his heart told him.

_Heart…_

The organ was useless. If he cut it out right now from his chest, the only thing he would feel would be the pain of cut skin. He was already as detached from the appendage as one could get. He didn't listen to it. The only good thing the heart did was war with the mind and count off one's every second with its never-ending beating.

Sasuke sighed and turned from the window to the framed picture in his hands. Why couldn't he throw it out the window like it was another shuriken? Why couldn't he stop staring at it? Ugh, it was so annoying.

His black eyes dropped. The Uchiha sighed and blinked himself awake.

Itachi… The named plagued Sasuke every night. As much as he wanted to kill the weasel, Sasuke now realized how little he knew of his older brother. He spent his whole life training to get stronger, wanting to kill his brother, that he now realized that…well…the man's life was a mystery to him.

Sasuke recognized that now that he had Sakura in his grasp, trapped and willing, he had time to waste before Konoha realized that Sakura was gone—_forever_. Time to use and misuse however he liked. Sasuke stood from his chair, a small, microscopic smirk on his face.

Tomorrow, they would leave.

* * *

Tsunade glared at the scum that slept on the prison bed. Drool lined his stone pillow. The yarō didn't disserve the bed on which he snoozed. He should have been hanged for all the torture he caused his daughter. What had Sakura ever done to that…bastard!

The Godaime Hokage growled at the redhead man. She remembered how Sakura came in some days—she remembered how the rosette would try to cover her tears and camouflage her sobs so she could try to work. She remembered checking the girl, asking why she was crying. The answer was always, _No reason, Tsunade-senpai_ or_ I miss Naruto_ or _I'm just weak like that_.

This man would suffer before his death. This man would suffer before his trial. The penalty for touching a ninja was death, after all. Tsunade didn't think Sakura knew that. This man would suffer like no one else suffered before.

Lay a hand on the Hokage's apprentice and there would be much more than hell to pay. Hell would be a mercy in comparison.

* * *

Suigetsu sighed and turned to his bed. It was lumpy and misused; the only thing that made it un-lumpy would include a good whore, someone to tell the story of the good night to, a Karin to piss off, and a Jūgo to help him drool.

Where was the orange-haired bastard anyway? There was no light outside and no moon to tell time. Jūgo could be asleep for all Suigetsu knew. But then again, he could be awake. What the hell, Sui decided, it wouldn't hurt.

The Hōzuki walked out of his room. Turning about ten corners in the labyrinth that was the Sound Palace, Suigetsu came upon the thick, stone door of Jūgo's room. The door made a hollow echoing sound as the swordsman knocked on it. The door slowly opened with an eeriness that, if Suigetsu weren't accustomed to the place's bloodcurdling atmosphere, would scare the pants off him.

Jūgo's large frame replaced the door. "What?" he groggily asked.

"I'm bored and Sasuke won't let me talk to Sakura," Suigetsu answered.

Not moving an inch, the orange-haired man scratched his stomach and sighed. "Who the hell is 'Sakura'?" he asked.

Suigetsu raised his eyebrows and wriggled them, saying, "Sasuke's new bed-buddy and my new bestie."

Jūgo's tangerine eyes widened. Uchiha Sasuke—with a bed-buddy? What kind of world did he get thrown into from his messed up dreams? The man moved over to let the Hōzuki through.

* * *

Sakura smiled in her sleep. Her petite, strong body was curled over Burūsu's bulky little one. Her short pink hair spread out around her head like a messy halo. Burūsu's own shaved hair pricked at Sakura's chin.

Hebia peeked in through the door. She had never seen this sight before; she loved it. Her two children, hugging and sleeping. They had only met today. It was so cute. The white-skinned woman took a longer glance at them and sneaked out into the hallway to her room. Her heart inflamed with the love she held for those two. They were so cute.

* * *

**Okay, so I know this one's a little late compared to the others. But I promised my best friend that I'd wait for her to catch up before I posted another chapter. Yeah, I just broke that promise.**

**I wrote _Letters to Papa_ because I was trying to resist the craving to write this. Sigh.**

**R&R!**


	18. Chapter 18

**The only Japanese will be names and cuss words (unless I can't find them). And they still will have the asterisks (*) and translations in at the bottom. If they're not here, they're in a previous chapter.**

**_READ THIS:_**

**http : / / www . fanfiction . net / s / 6677059 / 1 / How _ To _ Fail _ a_ Kidnapping**

* * *

Karin rubbed at her sleeping eyes, trying to get the crust out of them. The morning's orange rays burned in through the open curtain, dim and odd. She was on the east wing, so the sun's light had to travel a difficult way to wake her. The redhead rubbed at her red eyes and yawned; trying to see if her fingers would lose the rubbery feel they had every morning. Her stomach roared its hunger.

The Uchiha fan-girl sighed and lifted herself from the bed on lifeless legs. She was still wearing that blue sweater-dress the used in Konoha. Its fluffy warmth circled thighs and torso, leaving most of her legs and all of her arms exposed to the weather's wrath. Karin sighed, making the walk to her small closet.

Sasuke-kun didn't let her get more than eight outfits. He said that was all she needed—one for each day of the week and one for when the others are in the wash. Karin had wanted to complain when they had moved to the Palace, but she didn't want to lose his favor. What kind of girl can live off eight outfits? What kind of kunoichi could live off eight outfits if she had to go undercover? Like, what the jigoku!

Thankfully, he had given her a few thousand ryō, so she had stopped at one of the villages along the way to buy this dress, and change into it so she'd have something to wear that wouldn't directly connect Mazenta to Karin under the trench coat. And the _cutest_ high-heeled boots! They were black and knee-high, closed toes. Something she would _never_ use again if Sasuke had anything to say about it—something about them being unethical for a ninja, she guessed—but were nice to have nonetheless. And the dress was silk! She had spent half of her allowance for the mission on her outfit, while Suigetsu just wore some sweatpants his brother had left behind after he died and a t-shirt. Karin had put in the _effort_ to _appear_ normal. Because normal she was not.

Karin put the dress on one of the many empty hangers she had and pulled out her purple shirt and black shorts. Her toes felt good on the stone ground. She left the shoes in the closet and dressed.

What had the maids made for breakfast? Or—Karin's spirit lifted at the thought—had Sasuke-kun made Sakura cook as a punishment? As the redhead remembered the following, her energy deflated: Sakura was a good cook. It wouldn't be much of a punishment. Maybe he had her clean the stone floor on her knees with a toothbrush! Yes, that would be suitable. Of course, not painful, which disappointed Karin. But she knew Sasuke-kun and had a good feel of Sakura's charka and strength.

Anything that included pain Sakura would be able to withstand. Anything that Sakura was able to withstand would have Sasuke turned on…or so Karin thought. She hadn't really ever seen him "turned on," per se, but he had a strange feeling of what was "hot." She had seen him practically _drool_ over the shirtless, wet, whore that was the rosette.

The heel of her foot made no sound as she turned the corner and walked to the west wing, where the dinning room, kitchen and everything else was held—everything else including Sasuke-kun's room. Karin wondered if he was awake. Oh, wouldn't it just be so _nice_ to have him wake up next to her? For the first thing he saw to be her head, resting on his strong, shirtless chest? He _loved_ sleeping shirtless. Karin didn't think it was possible for him to sleep unless he was shirtless.

A smile on her face, Karin turned the corner and opened the door to Sasuke-kun's room. The sun's rays, though stronger in the west wing, didn't get one tongue into the colorless room. Sasuke-kun's dark, silk robe—a hand-me-down from Itachi, Karin had learned through trusted sources—hung on one of the four posts of his two king-sized beds. Karin smirked at the thought of why Sasuke-kun might need two put-together king-sized beds. Sasuke's closet was overstuffed with things he brought from Konoha and hand-me-downs from his family and Orochimaru. His shirt was thrown into a handmade willow hamper, made by the maids. Shadows lined the empty room. Black velvet curtains covered the windows. Sasuke-kun's strong body was strait on his bed. His head drooped to one side on his black velvet pillow-covers. One of his hands, though Karin couldn't be sure because the room was almost lightless excepting the light from the open door, laid on his toned stomach above the velveteen sheets while the other one rested beside him.

Karin closed the door behind her as entered the room. Darkness swallowed her as she tiptoed to Sasuke-kun's bed. She lifted the sheets over her body, curled up into Sasuke-kun's bed, and closed her eyes.

* * *

Sakura wondered where her bag had gone as she watched Burūsu sniffle in his sleep. In her bag, she remembered having ivy leaves and antiviral cream. If she mixed those two together, she would have a kid-friendly fever-reducer. With a virus, which is what causes fever, all you could do was watch as it ran its course and try to reduce it.

The black-haired boy sniffled again and coughed, then left some drool on Sakura's silken sheets. They were blood red, like that of the Sharingan. It puzzled Sakura why she got the soft sheets while her mother, who had been here longer and was the authentic sister of Sasuke's mentor, got cotton ones. Puzzled as she was, she didn't bother questioning it. When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade.

The girl lifted herself from the only chair in the scarcely decorated guestroom she was in. The walls weren't painted; they were plain and rocky, like the rest of the place. The floor was cold and strong with a simple, plush rug under her bed. She wondered how Uncle Oreo—she liked calling him that now, it was so…family-like—could afford to have some of the most expensive things in Japan while he was hardly allowed in any of the countries that sold them. The rosette gently lifted the four-year-old from her bed without waking him.

Maybe Sasuke would have some ivy leaves.

Burūsu's unconscious legs hooked onto Sakura's hips willingly and he mumbled something as he pushed his head into the crook of Sakura's neck. Sakura sighed and opened the door to her large room, glaring up at her wavy pink hair. Not only did her bag hold her medicines, but also her brush. She could feel the big, knotted clump of hair right above her left ear. That shows her to not tie her hair back when she's sleeping. Sakura sighed.

The maze that was Sasuke's hideout had Sakura lost in a matter of seconds. She was knocking on empty doors to empty rooms in the east wing, harlot rooms where the women opened the door with hooded eyes and empty stares, that odd hall where all you see are cobwebs and the only people that answer arepedophilia from which she had to protect her sleeping brother, and, surprisingly, maids.

There was this one with blonde hair that showed Sakura the way to Sasuke's room, to whom she would forever be grateful to, even if she never knew her name.

Sasuke's wing, the west wing, was the brightest. Sunrays hit her eyes, and Sakura wondered how Burūsu didn't wake up. Empty echoes resounded on the door as the Haruno's fist came in contact with the stone door multiple times. No one answered. Sakura shrugged her shoulders and pulled the door open, the entrance made a rumbling sound as the stone dragged against the dusty floor.

Jade eyes blinked a few times as they got accustomed to the lightlessness of the room. Sakura hefted her sleeping green-eyed boy and entered the room. Her toes were greeted with more stone. The further she went into the wide room, the more she came across soft rugs and clean carpets. How the jigoku did Sasuke get the money to afford all this when he left his funds in the jigoku-town that was Konoha?

The silhouette of Sasuke's body was visible under black velveteen sheets. Or so they appeared. There was too little light to know. Sakura leaned down, careful not to jostle Burūsu. "Sasuke, Sasuke get up. I need to ask you something," she murmured. Nothing. "Chikushō, Sasuke! Get up, Burūsu's sick!"

Black eyes opened; the only indication that they did was the fact that his eyes were darker than life. "Sakura," Sasuke asked. He blinked again. If Sakura was waking him up, why was there a weight on his stomach that wasn't his own? He turned to the head resting on his body. Red hair. The Uchiha screeched. Yes, screeched. Like a little girl. He didn't remember getting drunk. What the jigoku!

Red eyes blinked up at him. Sakura cooed at the four-year-old that had woken up, startled, and set him on the floor, heading to open the window curtains to see what was so scary that made Sasuke—_the__Uchiha Sasuke_—scream.

"Nee-sama!" Burūsu shouted, his words having the rounded quality of a baby's words. "What is Sasuke-san doing with Karin?" His green, snakelike eyes were wide with fear. He didn't like Karin very much.

Karin smiled. "Hi, Sasuke-kun, did you miss me in your sleep?" she purred.

"Oh my K—" Sakura cut herself off and lifted her brother from the floor. "I hope to Kami that you're both wearing clothes under that sheet!"

Sasuke's eyes spun red as he pushed Karin off the bed. She landed to the floor with a loud clank. "What the jigoku are you doing here?" he growled.

"I thought you'd—"

Sakura laughed. "You mean you didn't know Karin was in your bed?" she shouted. "Sasuke, you have gone _down_! Were you too drunk!"

"Nee-sama, what are you talking about?" Burūsu sneezed after giving the question. Sakura looked down at the boy quickly and gave him a reassuring squeeze as her eyes got used to the light that entered the room. It wasn't a big change. Everything in the room was black.

"Sasuke-kun, what is that mesu doing holding Hebia-sama's son?" the redhead asked, ready to take the boy from her grasp as soon as she got up off the floor. Karin didn't particularly like the boy, but whatever that jezebel had, she wanted. Like now, the love of that mucus-dropping little boy.

Sakura whipped the bogeys from the Burūsu's nose, her eyes not moving from the Inuzuka's fearful face. "You tell her, eh, baby?" she twittered. The rosette looked down at the green goop that now lined her palm. Her face pinched as if she had tasted something sour.

Burūsu smiled and took Sakura's face in his hands and squeezed her to his small chest. "Sakura-nee-sama is my sister! Mama told me so!" he said excitedly.

Karin glared at the two while Sasuke glowered at everything and anything he could get his eyes on. "I'm glad you two understand each other," he gnarred lowly. It was the silence of his words that sent shivers of fear down Karin and Sakura's backs. Not that Sakura, at least, would ever let the Uchiha know that. "Now get the jigoku out my room!"

Karin frowned and left the room. Sakura stood her ground. "Listen, Sasuke," the rosette started while watching Sasuke's three black tomoe spin in his red eyes, "can you tell me where my bag is? Burūsu has a fever and I have my medicine in there."

Sasuke sat up, blinking his Sharingan off. "I'll give it to you when we leave," he sighed, sleepy.

"Sasuke-san—Nee-sama can't leave yet! I want to meet her better! Can I go with you, Sasuke-san, Nee-sama? Please?" the green-eyed boy begged, his slim pupils widening.

Sasuke gave a small smirk and lifted his arms out to the boy. Burūsu willingly spread out his arms and Sakura gave him over, sitting on the side of the vast, comfortable bed. Sasuke sat the boy on his lap and ran a hand through the boy's close-shaven locks. "Ask your mama. I have no problem with it," the navy-haired man murmured.

Sakura smiled as Burūsu bounced up and down happily.

* * *

Naruto sighed as he dug around in the underground rubble. No light shined in the underfoot hideout. Sasuke-teme's charka left marks in the smallest form. There were multiple signatures in the place, covered in age-old dust and snake carcasses. A big yellow snake, living ageist the odds, slithered around the rubble. A boa constrictor.

Naruto's sky-blue eyes had a confused sparkle in them. His blonde brows knitted together. That big snake had that purple scale in between his eyes…like Sakura-chan's old snake. The one that went missing around the time Sakura-chan's mom did. They got kidnapped together, was most likely; Mrs. Haruno never went anywhere without the thing. What was the serpent's name…?

Lerō! That was the name. Naruto drooped the large brick in his hands. The blonde whistled the tune that Sakura-chan used to sing to the snake. The Uzumaki couldn't help but add "Come 'ere, boy—come 'ere, Lerō" at the end. The yellow snake hissed harmlessly and stuck out its tongue. Lerō slithered over the debris and to the familiar ninja. The serpent curled around Naruto's leg and climbed his body to his neck. The boa constrictor lay weightless on Naruto's shoulders and hissed, then did a doggish thing. Lerō licked the Uzumaki's cheek.

Naruto laughed. "Lerō!" he shouted, wrapping the long snake's body around his waist. He looked ahead of him at Kiba, Shikamaru, and Kakashi. "Guys!" he shouted. The trio looked back as Naruto ran up to them. Akamaru barked at the slimy snake. "I found the snake!"

Kiba blinked at Naruto. "You found a _snake_! Is that all you wanted to tell us! Naruto, there are snakes _everywhere_! We're looking for signs of _Uchiha Sasuke_—does that sound like the kuso word '_snake_' to you! Kami chikushō, do you _want_ him to get Sakura? Because she could go willingly!" the Inuzuka shouted, his sharp black eyes deadly.

Kakashi blinked. Had Kiba just shouted? The same Kiba that trained Akamaru, had just _lectured_ Naruto? Not _fought_, but _lectured_? What the seikō was wrong with the world now?

Shikamaru stuffed his hands in his pockets and waited for this drag to be over.

"No, Kiba—not _a_ snake—_the_ snake! The one that went missing a few years back with Sakura-chan's mom!" Naruto shouted back. "Lerō's alive—do you know what this means?"

"What?" Shikamaru droned.

Naruto's smile lifted higher. "Well, other than the fact that Hebia was kidnapped by Orochimaru, it means that they were here recently! It means that if Sasuke realizes that he left behind one of the strongest snake-ninja, he'll come back! We can hang here for a while to see! I'll feel really crappy because it'd fell like we weren't doing anything, but—he _might_ come back!"

Kakashi crossed his arms. "And what if he doesn't? He'll get farther away."

Naruto pouted and hoisted Lerō higher. "Alright. But I'm keeping Lerō!"

"Whatever."

It was difficult to tell who it was that said that word, but it didn't matter. It was an approval nonetheless. Sakura-chan would be _so_ happy to have her pet back!

* * *

Robāto watched up at the sun. It had been one complete day that Sakura hadn't come to visit. He didn't care.

The redhead watched as a police officer slid his morning gruel under the cell bars. Robāto sighed, lifted himself from the bed, to his food, took it, and went back. The officer didn't leave. "You must be one special mother fucker; the Hokage came to visit you last night. You're going to have jigoku to pay, yarō."

The Haruno shrugged, uncaring.

* * *

Suigetsu entered the dinning room. Food was being served by the maids. Jūgo entered behind him. The Hōzuki smiled, seeing the empty seat at the table next to Sakura. Sasuke sat at the head of the table while Hebia—Orochimaru's sister—sat beside him. Her son sat in the highchair next to her. Sakura sat next to the black-haired boy and Karin sat across from Hebia, next to Sasuke.

Suigetsu ran to the seat next to Sakura, only to be greeted with a black, soulless glare.

* * *

**I hope I showed Sasuke-kun's love for children in the small little paragraph I gave it. You'll see it later on.**

**I was listening to this while writing this. It's so cute! There are more. One's between Tsunade and Orochimaru, and Sasuke and Itachi…its cute:**

**http : / / www . youtube . com / watch?v = dnfzcBNV4Jc&feature = related (NARUTO WON! Poor Sasuke-kun)**

**R&R!**

**(PS: Copy and paste the link in the browser box and take out all the spaces. Unless you're too lazy—in which case, you disappoint me.)**


	19. Chapter 19

**The only Japanese will be names and cuss words (unless I can't find them). And they still will have the asterisks (*) and translations in at the bottom. If they're not here, they're in a previous chapter.**

**I noticed I hadn't put a disclaimer any of my chapters. I'm getting sued… (Bail me out, please!) Anyway, here's the disclaimer for all the past and future chapters so I don't forget or get prosecuted: Boriqua-chan no own no one other than Hebia, Cherushī, Naō, Efrain, Kimani, Kano, Taro, Burūsu, and another other future OC characters.**

**_READ THIS:_**

**http : / / www . fanfiction . net / s / 6677059 / 1 / How _ To _ Fail _ a_ Kidnapping**

* * *

Sasuke sighed, grabbing the round onigiri* in front of him. The seaweed covered the wrapped rice. The many flavors—cooked rice, wet kelp, and bite-sized slices of tomatoes—slurred around in his mouth. Why the hell hadn't he kicked Karin from his left side so he wouldn't have to hold down bile as he watched Suigetsu try to flirt with Sakura? Why did he _care_? Why the jigoku did he care that Sakura wasn't ignoring the swordsman like he _commanded_ her to?

It had worked for the trip here. Sasuke had taken a silent pleasure in watching Sakura cross her arms and try to ignore Suigetsu in the kindest way possible. By the look in the Hōzuki's eye, Sakura's sympathy had only made the pain worse. It had made Sasuke want to laugh aloud in a way he hadn't in so long.

Sakura smiled at one of Suigetsu's gay jokes. Sasuke's black glare intensified as Sakura ran a hand through Suigetsu's bluish-silver hair. Why the seikō was the Sharingan not working? Why did it decide to fail him now of all times? Sasuke had never heard of something so…_odd_. No one in the history of the Uchiha Clan had ever resisted the Sharingan. If she was so resisting of the command he gave her to stay away from Suigetsu, why was she not resisting the command to hate Naruto? What in the world… But, after all, it wasn't as if she was hugging the idiot, like she was yesterday. Maybe it was a fluke.

He'd give it some time before looking into it…

He watched as Sakura chewed on her own onigiri. Swallowing, she said aloud so that the whole table heard, "Mama, where's Lerō? I remember you taking him when you left." She no longer referred to it as "when you went missing" knowing that she hadn't gone missing, that she had gone by her own will. She now referred to it as "when you left."

Hebia stopped the dumpling from entering her mouth mid-path. Her snakelike, green eyes looked around the table as if expecting the large boa constrictor to just pop up. "He should be slithering around the place. I haven't seen him since we moved. Have you, Sasuke-san?"

Sasuke tried to recall the yellow thing gliding around the Sound Palace any recent time. He had none. The last time he saw the long snake was…three months ago, when they changed the hideout. "Hn…"

Sakura shrugged—she'd find him later—and turned her attention back to the two boys. They were Sasuke's two favorite henchmen. One had orange hair; one was Suigetsu. What hadn't she liked about Suigetsu? Why hadn't she wanted to hang out with him? Sakura shrugged it off, returning to the conversation.

"So, Sakura, Hebia-sama's your mom?" Suigetsu was saying. His jaw still hurt, but not as much. It was the type of pain he could handle. However, he was ignoring his food. He'd tried to chew earlier. It didn't go how he planned.

Sakura smiled. "Yeah. She's the one that changed my diapers when I was little," the rosette answered. "And Lerō is my pet snake. Or he was, until _Mama_"—she said the name loudly, so the woman could hear—"lost him. He was so cute too. He had a little purple scale right between his eyes. I'm hoping he still does. But Mama could've forgotten to feed him, forgetful as she is now."

"Sakura-chan," the orange-haired man spoke. His name was Jūgo. He was far too big for his age—eighteen—and too gentle as far as he was showing. Jūgo had tangerine eyes, soft and critical. They were dangerous and scary, harmless and encouraging. They were their own contradiction. "How long have you know Sasuke-san?"

Sakura flashed a glance at Sasuke, as if asking permission. Really, what she was doing was making sure he was okay with it; if he wasn't, better for her. She got to embarrass the ice cube that was her first and only love. That's what he deserved for sleeping with Karin, clothes or no clothes. Her already smashed heart didn't need more torture. Sasuke gave her a barely-there nod, confused on why she would want permission. Permission just _wasn't_ her thing, as far as he remembered. Sakura smiled and answered with, "You mean he hasn't told you his story?"

Nobody answered. Even Karin was interesting in whatever lie the rosette was going to tell. At least then, she'd know what was true and what wasn't. Anything Sakura said was a lie; simple as that.

"I meet Sasuke when I was little. Real little—around five. He was quiet, like he is now. He was nice. I'll be the first to admit that I had"—she added 'have' under her breath—"a crush on him. I annoyed him. I'll bet anything he still is." Sakura smiled at the memory. Just days ago, her heart had ached at the remembrance. Now, with Sasuke safe and unharmed by her side, the memory was a good one. An old one. One that when she was old she would refer to as 'the good old days.' "He nicknamed me Annoying, if I remember correctly. It wasn't as if he had said it in a nice way—most of the time he was aggravated with me—but annoying is what he called me. My papa, may Kami bless his time in jail, called me that too."

Hebia looked up from her plate. "Robāto's in jail? What did he do, the imbecile?"

Sakura blushed in embarrassment, her eyes downcast. She found the zipper on the shirt she had finally but back on rather interesting. Had it always sparkled like that when the sun hit it?

Hebia's emerald eyes tightened. "Sakura," she said stiffly, an order this time, "_what_ did your father _do_?"

Sakura took in a deep breath and stood up from the chair, her hand on the zipper of her shirt. "This, Mama," she said as the zipper zipped down her shirt. The red cloth separated, revealing silver bruises on her ivory skin. There were slashed all over her body. There was a big one, slashing just above her bellybutton. It was a pale, pale red, just fading to pink—as if it was healed when it was new and never touched again. It was only days old.

Hebia gasped as her son continued eating his food. "Robāto did this to you?" she shouted, standing and tracing the large gash on Sakura's stomach. Smaller ones, older ones, traced alongside it; they were just as worrisome, but not as new.

Sakura shook her head. "No. That one I got from Uncle Oreo's old hideout. Where Sasuke left his keys. The rest of them—Papa gave me those. That's why I moved out," she said, somewhat strongly, yet with the innocence of a little girl.

Sasuke's stomach flared with anger. That man, if he could even call himself a man, Sasuke had met that man. Years ago on Sakura's twelfth birthday when they were still teammates; she had invited all of Team Seven over for a dinner she herself had cooked. The redhead had sat in the living room, having nothing to do with any of them. When Naruto had cheerfully sang the birthday song to her, the man had left, leaving a note with five words on them for Sakura, which she had kept to herself. But with a Sharingan wielder, it was impossible to have a secret kept. He had read those five words: _I'm sorry you were born._

Now the man was hitting her? Had he no shame? What had Sakura ever done to him? Sweet, innocent, scary, gullible Sakura—the worst she could do to someone she loved would be ignore them…or, in Naruto's case, punch senseless; but only in Naruto's case, as far as he knew.

Add one more person to the _People on Sasuke's List_ list. Now that Sakura was on the reassembled Team Taka, it was his job to protect her. They had days to kill before anyone noticed them. They would use them. When it was time, he would tell Jūgo to do what it was he wanted to do.

Sasuke returned his attention to Sakura's marred abdomen.

Sakura zipped up her shirt and sighed. Suigetsu glared at her. "You told me those were from missions," he accused. Sakura shrugged, chewing on her third dumpling.

Sasuke swallowed his onigiri. "We're leaving today," he stated simply.

Karin hooked herself to Sasuke's arm and smiled an open, yellow smile. "Where are we going, Sasuke-kun? Can we go to the new spa they built just inside the Lightning Country in DenkiMachi*?" she begged, frowning and moving away when Sasuke shook her off.

"We're going to DenkiMachi, yes." It was where Itachi was last seen before Sasuke regrettably killed him. "You can do whatever the jigoku you want when we get there."

Burūsu jumped up and down in his highchair. He had forgotten to ask. "Mama, Mama! Can I go with Sasuke-san and Sakura-nee-sama?" he asked, chewing on his finger—which still had the taste of rice, mind you.

Hebia's answer was short and simple: "No." _Trust no one. Not even yourself._

"But Mama—"

White skin tightened over strong bones as Hebia frowned. "Burūsu, I said no."

"You're so mean, Mama!" the future tracker huffed, crossing his short, stubby arms and pouting his lips.

The white-skinned woman sighed. "I know that, honey. It's my job to be. Sasuke-san has a dangerous job. You could get hurt."

"You let Sakura-nee-sama go!" the boy puffed, angry.

"She works with Sasuke-san."

"Mean!"

* * *

Kiba sighed. This kuso wild-goose chase was tiring him out. He hadn't slept yesterday. What was the point of this? If Sasuke wanted to be found, he would have been found long ago. The only thing they had found in the dump that was a hideout was another mouth to feed. A slimy, poisonous mouth, with long, pointy fangs.

The Inuzuka shook his head and scratched Akamaru behind the ears as the furry white dog ran the span of the forest floor. Leaves rustled above them as his three teammates jumped the trees. The golden snake was incredibly fast, Kiba hated to admit. The boa constrictor scared him. The thing could eat a small dog with just one swallow. It wasn't that he was _against _pets or anything—he had Akamaru, for Kami's sake—it was just that…the serpent could kill them all very easily in their sleep.

From what Naruto had told them, Sakura's mother had trained Lerō well. The snake could—and had—killed S-rank ninja, many of them Akatsuki members. The Akatsuki had been more than just about ten organized weirdoes and I-will-control-the-world freaks. They used to have about seventy members around—not to mention the hidden members that blended in with villagers—but Hebia and her partner and their team, Team Nineteen, had wiped out most of them, along with other ninja that had long ago reached their expiration date and bit the dust.

Kiba praised his partner. It was a long way to go before they got to Sasuke's older hideout.

* * *

Robāto glared outside the window. A bell rang, loud and ear splitting. The convicts' jail cells opened with a rusty screeching. All of the bars except his. His got tighter, if anything. Across the hall from him, a man with rusty brown eyes blinked and smiled, coming across the concrete hall to the front of Robāto's cell.

The redheaded man looked at him expectantly. No one ever stopped at his cell other than the cops. No one was ever let _out _of their own cells. "Look at you," the man smirked, running a skinny, musician-like hand over his red-highlighted brown hair. "Buff father of Haruno Sakura. What the jigoku are you doing in this hellhole? Wouldn't your hotshot little girl have gotten you out of here yet, blacksmith?"

The Haruno's tan cheeks turned up into a bitter smirk. "Yarō, that ungrateful mesu put me in here."

The brown-haired man laughed a pungent, harsh laugh. "Konoha's Sakura Blossom—the Hokage's own apprentice put her father in jail! Great gossip. What did you do, you little shiri?" he asked.

"Asserted my position as man," Robāto stated simply, as if it was the most normal thing in the world to hit his daughter.

The man's reddish-brown eyes widened with disbelief. "You _hit_ a ninja? And lived to tell the tale? You warui* baka*. You're so luck you aren't out here. Sakura-sama is the one that cured my son. He had cancer. You got the nerve to hit such a miracle-worker?"

Robāto laughed. "And you're an angel? Why the jigoku are you in here then?"

"That's not your business. But let me tell you something: Behave yourself around me, you warui."

* * *

Sakura leaned on the doorway of Sasuke's room, watching him as he dug through drawers. Black silk and red velvet fell out his hangers. Her vivid green eyes traced the messy velvet sheets. Karin had been on that bed. She hadn't. It hurt. Someone had been in the bed of the man she loved.

But how much did she know of Sasuke's life in Oto? It might not have been the first time he had bedded someone. Sakura sighed, making Sasuke—who, as always, knew she was standing watching him—turn to her. "Sasuke, where's my brush?" Sakura asked, now having Sasuke's attention.

Out of nowhere, Sasuke grabbed her dull brown bag and threw it to backwards to her. Sakura caught it, extending one arm to do so, not moving from her possession. Her green eyes analyzed the thing. Then she shrugged and went to the dresser in Sasuke's room to unknot the knot atop left ear. Watching her hair in the mirror, the rosette called, "Sasuke?"

The solitary Uchiha gave his usual grunt and turned as he inspected Sakura's tantō; it had a flat, rectangular head. It wouldn't so much if you were to stab someone, but for what he wanted it, it would do. They were only going to DenkiMachi; it wasn't as if the small village was crawling with angry, Konoha ninja, willing to do anything to get him back. If anything, DenkiMachi was a vacation spot for many of Orochimaru's old accessories—the ones Sasuke had dismissed with an icy glare, that is.

"Why are we leaving? We just got here. Suigetsu has, and I mean _has_, to have his liquids and rest if he's not going to have gingivitis. I think some germs got in there. And Karin…" Sakura trailed of trying to figure out how to word it, settling with, "Karin doesn't look…_ready_ to leave again. She got used to the two days of luxury with Hinata and Neji. And I just met my little brother. I don't want to go."

The chartreuse eyes of the girl had the same affect on Sasuke as they did when they were staring at him themselves. But Sasuke was good with hiding emotion. His façade, like everything else in the imawashii* bastion, remained stony. "We all _want_ things," was the navy-haired boy's simple response.

Sakura sighed. "We all want things…" she repeated curious. The wooden brush made a clanking sound as the pink-haired girl lifted herself onto Sasuke's black dresser. The shades were pulled back, letting in light. It didn't make much of a difference. The rugs were still the deepest shade of black Sakura had ever seen, the sheets were still black, and the walls were still black. The only thing that had changed was the color of the stones beneath her feet. "What is it _you_ want, Sasuke?"

She had asked so…annoyingly interested, so…Sakura-ish, that Sasuke lost control of his own voice, and blurted out, "To avenge Itachi."

Sakura's long eyelashes batted. It wasn't flirty, but it was innocent—Kami knew how Sasuke loved Sakura's innocence. Why had that evil bastard of a god put such a wonderful creature on this planet? Had he just called Sakura a "wonderful creature"? He was turning soft. Just like Suigetsu had hoped—_I hope she does you good. _He wasn't speaking of Sakura "doing him good," he was speaking of turning him soft, like a heated marshmallow. An easy marshmallow to manipulate with a simple woman. He was Uchiha Sasuke, of the late Uchiha Clan! That same clan had provided him with his dark, smoldering eyes, midnight blue colored hair—beautiful and charmingly funny with its hairstyle—and his cold, unapproachable attitude that drove the woman after him. He could have any woman he wanted. Suigetsu wouldn't control him with a simple, replaceable woman.

Still. Sakura's bright pink hair—the purple-pink lowlights and neon highlights, baby pink undertones, and just pink mane in all—was tucked behind her ear as Sasuke went to his bedside table, looking for ryō. "That doesn't make much sense, Sasuke," she said simply.

Sasuke threw Sakura a few trillion ryō, growling, "How so?" Why the jigoku did he care? He didn't. He just wanted to prove her wrong. No one can contradict an Uchiha.

"Well," Sakura sighed, crossing her legs in a crisscross-applesauce fashion on his black wooden dresser. The mirror, now against her back, was cold as the ice in Sasuke's heart. The rosette sighed, knowing that this was true. If only she could unfreeze it…if only. "You're trying to destroy everything he tried to protect, if that Naruto ogre told me is true." _Naruto_. The name on her tongue had an old, sweet and sour taste. She ignored it. "Wasn't he trying to _defend_ Konoha and you as well?"

Sasuke had no response to that.

Sakura could only smirk a Sasuke-like smirk of triumph. She was fine with wanting to kill the blonde baka, despite her internal debate, but Konoha? No. That was her hometown. _His_ hometown. The place in which her godchildren resided. The place in which Efrain and Kimani slept atop their villager pillows. Where TenTen rested, trying to make another move on Neji. Where Ino held hands with Sai. Where Hinata was happy—for the time being. Where Kakashi had only now, surly, been waking. Where he father rotted in his cell. No, Konoha was too important, to both of them, whether Sasuke wanted or not to admit it.

The Haruno counted the money tossed to her—1,200 ryō—and stuffed it in her backpack. She didn't ask about it, figuring that if the place they were going to had _spas_, it had to cost a lot. She knew of DenkiMachi. It was a middle-class town with blossoming businesses. The last one that opened was called Kongō Tanoshii* because of how it was a mixed bath and whatnot. TenTen—who had been undercover in DenkiMachi, trying to figure out where Uchiha Itachi had been buried, who buried him, and why—had been to the spa not too long ago, when it first opened, three months ago. She figured Kongō Tanoshii was the one Karin had been talking of.

"Sasuke," Sakura said again, questioning.

"What now." The Uchiha's words were more of a statement than a question. In fact, he was rather amused with Sakura's…Sakura-ness. There was no other word for it.

"Are we going on vacation?"

"Sort of."

* * *

"Why are you hanging out with that mesu at all? Suigetsu, I bet you she dyed her hair."

All had gone back to normal after Sakura followed Sasuke into his room, an earnest look on her face. It didn't fail to anger Karin, but it did fail to have Suigetsu crying and waiting for her like a lost puppy. Suigetsu had gone to Karin to annoy her. Karin had pretended to ignore him, even fighting back, all the while secretly elated that she had the attention of at least one of her three teammates.

Now, Suigetsu stared into his closet, packing the other seven outfits in his closet, while Karin sat crisscrossed on his bed, a scowl on her face about his friends. What _was _she—his _mother_? "And what is yours? Naturally tomato red? I don't think so, Your Repulsiveness," Suigetsu asked sarcastically. "You did that four your precious 'Sasuke-kun.'" Sui felt the bitterness creep into his voice as he whined out the two last words in a nasally voice. A spot-on imitation of Karin, if he did say so himself—which he did.

"Baka."

"I know you are but what am I?"

"An imbecile is what you are!"

"I know you are but what am I?" Suigetsu repeated; taking joy in the familiar task of taking Karin to the point where she would chose death over annoyance.

Karin grabbed one of the rock-hard pillows behind her and threw it at Suigetsu's blue hair. The teen's head and neck morphed into water, leaving about three gallons of water on the dusty, dirty stone floor. Suigetsu's neck and head reformed onto his shoulders, intact and unscathed. He rolled his purple eyes, irritated. "Can't you go one day without morphing my face?" he shouted. "Sasuke's right—Sakura is _so_ much better than you! Why I don't go to Sasuke's room and snatch Sakura from him is beyond me! It's better than being stuck with you!"

Karin frowned, her eyes widening. "Don't," she whimpered, her bottom lip in a begging pout. "Please."

Suigetsu's violet eyes widened. Did he just hear what he thought he heard? The redhead's words were too soft, too unbelievable and personal. He'd never seen Karin so vulnerable, not even when she was begging for Sasuke's approval and love. Her eyes were big, red, and defenseless under her dirty, thick, brown-rimmed glasses; her lips were pale and full, innocent, in a way; she looked…frail. Suigetsu didn't like seeing her like this. He sighed, walked to her on her bed, took away her glasses—to reveal smaller, redder eyes—and cleaned them on his shirt.

"You know, you can be really annoying," Suigetsu claimed. "I wonder why I stand you."

Karin gave a fake scowl. "Yarō." She said, grabbing around for her glasses. Without them, she was farsighted. Suigetsu's body—just three feet away, much too close for her to see without her specs—looked like blurry lines of colors with odd fill-in colors. His skin, for example, looked like cream furry smudges. The door, about seventeen feet away from where she was, looked normal. "Give them back!"

"Nah," the Hōzuki sighed. "I think I'll keep them. Give them to one of my _special_ girls. I think that one with the brown hair and the baby would like them."

"Stupid. Give them back, I can't see!" the redhead shouted.

Suigetsu laughed. The art of angering Karin had not lost its pleasure. Suigetsu was like a painter and Karin was his canvas and brushes—once reunited, they made an odd, beautiful thing that one would like to change but never would. Like a paintbrush's mistake. It was beautiful, yes; odd, yes; scary, yes; but unchangeable. One could paint over it if one wished, but the mistake would still be there, hanging in the back. "You can hardly see anyways," the aqua-haired teen uttered, placing the glasses in Karin's hands.

Karin placed them on the bridge of her nose and threw another pillow at him, making water splash onto the cotton sheets of the bed and the stone floor. Relief washed over her. Everything was the same, at least for a while.

* * *

Team Taka met at the lounge in the back of the Sound Palace. Sofas and loveseats were all over the place, whores and henchmen pleasuring themselves on some of the many seats. Luckily for Sakura's innocent eyes, they were still in their clothes. The windows were large, but covered mostly in dirt. The south side of the Palace was half underground.

Sakura looked around. Karin was scowling at Suigetsu, who was stretching his neck. His muscles looked tense, as if he had recently preformed the Hydration Technique and his body was readjusting to his reforming head. Sakura wondered why he hadn't turned into water when she punched him. Surprise? Trust? Who knew? Why _had_ she punched him? Habit, maybe. Sakura shook her head free of the thought and looked to Jūgo, who was standing awkwardly in the room, his orange eyes darting around. Sasuke stood next to her, his eyes stony and uncaring—yet all seeing—as ever. He had brought her to the lounge. The man wouldn't let her out of his sight, and, while she felt flattered and accomplished, it was kind of creepy.

"We're going," Sasuke said, walking to one of the windows that weren't covered in dirt and dust. He jumped out, followed by his two favorite henchmen and two favorite henchwomen. The three he sent on most missions and the one he wouldn't leave behind for his life. This girl, with her bright appearance, was the key into Naruto's weakness and Konoha's downfall. Karin, Suigetsu, and Jūgo could do whatever the jigoku came out of their big shiri as long as they were back by night—no, as long as they were back by the end of the week and hadn't given away any info. But Sakura was going to be on as tight a leash as it would go. The Sharingan was losing its affect already; he had used too weak a power. He wasn't going to let it lose it all while he wasn't there to fix it. She had already started to rebel.

Yes, Sakura would follow him like a pup follows its master to the traditional Japanese café, Cha Ha. To Itachi's old house. To Kisame's old house. To anything that had to do with Itachi. Sasuke remembered that Itachi loved traditional Japanese cafés. Anywhere Sasuke went, he would be sure to have Sakura follow, whimpering at his feet like a little lost dog.

* * *

**Onigiri—second to tomatoes, one of Sasuke's favorite foods. It means, "rice ball."**

**DenkiMachi—the two Japanese words "denki" and "machi;" denki meaning electric and machi meaning town**

**Warui—badass**

**Baka—idiot (if you don't know that, I suggest you relearn Naruto)**

**Imawashii—damned**

**Kongō Tanoshii—Mixed (Kongō) Fun (Tannoshii)**

**Cha Ha—Tea (cha) Leaves (ha)**

**A yen is worth a bit more than 1 cent (0.0122, to be exact) in American dollars (USD). A ryō is worth 10 yen, as stated in naruto . wikia . com; therefore, a ryō is worth 12 cents (0.1225). But because of my crap math, I will round this to 50 cents (way out there, I know; do _you _want to do the math? I don't think so!)**


	20. Chapter 20

**The only Japanese will be names and cuss words (unless I can't find them). And they still will have the asterisks (*) and translations in at the bottom. If they're not here, they're in a previous chapter. Unimportant names—like store names that are irrelevant to the story and there for visual's sake—will be in English.**

**Thank you, _Thegirlwhowatchestars_ for being my 100th reviewer. :) We made 100! Let's try to make 150! And then 200…and so on. This is my most popular story ever! I hope I make it to 1K. (What does "K" mean? I know 1K means 1 "a lot," but really… It doesn't help.)**

**_READ THIS:_**

**http : / / www . fanfiction . net / s / 6677059 / 1 / How _ To _ Fail _ a_ Kidnapping**

* * *

The trip wasn't long—a bit over an hour. The Sound Palace wasn't far from the Lightning Country. Unlike most believes the Palace wasn't smack-dab in the middle of Oto. Actually, what had been the late White Snake and living Green Serpent's—in other words, Orochimaru and Hebia, the snake twins, made famous long ago when Orochimaru was on Konoha's side—home for the past three months was hidden behind sandbank-made mountains and clever jutsu and in the most remote corners of Otogakure. That, and the southern side and entrances were hidden under sand.

The Lightning Country had no grand gate like Konoha or any elaborate domes like Sunagakure. It was simple, however its people were anything but "humble." The country was large—vast like the heavens or the undergrounds, as big, if not bigger, than the Fire Country—but its towns were spread out and poor. Team Taka had reached their destination.

DenkiMachi, a developing and growing town, was separated into two. There was the clean, pristine side of DenkiMachi with its white stores and cream-colored sidewalks. It smelled of bleach and smelling sprays. The other side, however, had brown construction sites and dirty, unfinished sidewalks with whores sprinkling every corner. Sasuke had information that his elder brother had business on both sides. The colorless, immaculate side was Itachi's hangout spot, so to speak. The man had known his end was near and had spent his remaining days enjoying life without spending much of his money; that was why he lived on the bimbo-dusted side.

The sole Uchiha sighed, looking at the spotless side of DenkiMachi now. White, two-story business buildings stood strait, tall, and proud. Windows, made of glass, were open horizontally like miniature doorways at the top. The business doors were open at the floor on the left side, while on the right side they were all closed with little bells on the inside, Sasuke noticed as he walked by them, Sakura close behind him. That was the only person he was worried about; Jūgo, Suigetsu, and Karin followed loyally behind them.

The buildings had an unspoken law, it seemed. The left's doors were open while the right's were closed. Few were unlike it and those that were had little to no customers. There was an eerie silence to the village. Two-star hotels were the only buildings higher than two stories, and those had been scarce along the way. Handwritten signs were on the façades of the stores. From outside, the Uchiha could tell the place was successful, but not busy. Waitresses in white aprons went around with fake smiles.

Sasuke shook his head. They had to pass through here to get to their motel rooms, which had yet to be booked on the other side of town. Sasuke didn't care much about it; it was just a place to sleep. If he hadn't had to keep an eye on Sakura, they would sleep in the woods. Renting out rooms, in a motel or not, drew attention. There were bank accounts that could be traced; ninja that would get too comfortable, too fast; and rooms to share, in which people—most worrisome would be Karin—could so things to drunk leaders. All of that, however, was left irrelevant when Sakura came into the picture. With an unknowing captive, like Sakura, it was better to have a room. With a motel room, Sakura couldn't escape without his knowing, which was worth more than those three things if he made some crafty sleeping charts.

Distantly walking, Sasuke walked on, his team following like a pack of wolves follow its leader. They had made it past the clean storefronts and into the colorful homes. Most were one-story huts with straw roofs and bright green grass. Others were large and multistoried with colorful frontages and wooden posts. In this growing township, most of these houses may be uninhabited yet; the meager customers inside the stores backed the theory. Some of the smaller houses had signs of owners—pies on the windowsills, children's footprints on the lawns, flowers. Sasuke could almost laugh at how safe he could tell the people felt. In these very streets Uchiha Itachi, master of fifteen jutsu, had walked through these streets; worse criminals could walk through these streets with an angry bloodlust. Jigoku—he, Uchiha Sasuke, was here.

Several miles later, the dust under his booted feet turned into gravel. The pristine side turned to brown, stinky mud; the white walls turned to graffiti'd murals. Sidewalks turned to whore-shops. Honorable stores transformed to rundown shops. The change was remarkable in just steps.

Sakura stepped closer to Sasuke. She didn't like the change. "Where are we?" she whispered, closing the two steps between them, making sure their arms didn't touch, out of respect for Sasuke. She heard Karin's step closer and closer to Sasuke, Suigetsu trailing to not get left behind, and Jūgo staying behind, the large and gentle protector. She felt her eyelids throb like she did when she was freaked out. She may be a ninja, but she didn't feel like punching everyone she didn't know. This was, after all, DenkiMachi—home and breading grounds of ex-Orochimaru handymen. She had been trained to punch the living daylight—or nightlights, as most of the people who worked for Uncle Oreo had been Goth or…just out of it—out of them.

"DenkiMachi's most un-remote area," were the words that came out of his mouth as he walked into the dirty motel with a crusty sign.

* * *

It was a dead end, as dead as an end could get. The last time the missing Uchiha had been sighted here, it had been more than a year ago. Rain, slush, and whatever other weather sunk its claws into this barren wasteland. The place was caked with dry sand, cracked earth, and dust that needed to be scraped from its residence to get it anywhere. Charka wasn't here, other than that of Naruto's own orange glow from a year ago when he had checked this place out when it was first discovered. The jinchūriki made the blonde's charka more prudent and harder to be rid of, but also easier to hide. It was a mess.

Kakashi looked around. The dry, dirty ex-hideout was neater than the last, but dustier, with more, useless rooms. Shikamaru had found a torture chamber, in which skeletons, both animal and human, resided. Naruto had found a few rats—which Lerō happily got rid of. Kiba and Akamaru were lookouts. The structure, with its old beams and molding foundation, could come crashing down at any time. The two were supposed to keep watch for any cracking sounds at all.

The team had been looking around in this place since noon. They were sweating, upset, and, knowing Naruto, hungry. For all their hard work, the most they had to show for it was a snake. What the jigoku did a _snake_ have to do with Sasuke? Kami, this was one failed A-rank mission. It wasn't S because there weren't more villains involved, although Sasuke himself made it an S-ranked mission. His teammates kind of dragged him behind a bit.

Good Kami, there was nothing to do on this mission but sit and wait, like mice waiting to be taken for dinner.

* * *

Robāto glared out his cell bars. Why the seikō hadn't he been let out yet? He had to make a tawagato, for heaven's sake! And there was no way in the flaming pits of jigoku he was going to use that…monstrosity in his temporary hellhole. There was a murky, yellow-green substance on its rim. He was Haruno Robāto—blacksmith of Konoha. Without him, there would be no ninja; they would have no weapons! For Kami's sake, no.

Synchronized footsteps stomped on the concrete ground of the outside hallway. From his bed across the bars, he couldn't see anyone coming down, but he could hear them. And he knew they were here for him. He knew that. He was the one that had hit the infamous Haruno Sakura. He was the main problem in this hellish jail. Not the men outside, where the redhead could hear the sound of fist-on-skin, but the man inside, where Robāto heard nothing but the sound of his own breathing and the footfalls outside his cell.

A triangle of cops stopped at his cell, in the middle of them none other than the well-known Godaime Hokage. He had never seen her in person. He liked what he saw. Hazel eyes, surrounded by butterfly eyelashes, upon high cheekbones glared at him, burning right through him. Blonde hair, which looked as silky as it did pale, grew to about mid-back in two thin pigtails. A diamond-shaped purple birthmark gave an exotic look to her pale skin. And her chest—rather large, if he put it mildly.

This was the leader of his kingdom, of his hometown; this was his daughter's teacher. This was the Lady Hokage that had his child hitting her betters. He had expected something different. Something to go with her title, "Slug Princess." Something slimy and unappealing. Instead, the woman stood tall, ignoring the bodyguards. They were a moot point—she was "the strongest ninja in Konoha," she didn't need protectors. If she could fight as many as twenty men with her pinky, as the rumor went around, she could take out a few minor-threat prisoners.

Robāto smirked and stood, bowing as low as he could in a swooping stoop. It was mocking. "Greetings, Princess," he ridiculed, his head down low. "You are not as sluggish as one would think, Slug Princess. Tell me, Highness, is there a Prince?"

Tsunade glared at him, her eyes a bit glazed over with what the Haruno guessed was booze. "Get off your groveling shiri," the blonde growled. "I hear Naruto came to visit you."

Robāto stood, a bit too ramrod-strait. Sarcastically, the redhead looked her strait in the light brown eyes. They had microscopic flecks of green around the pupil. "Yes, Your Highness," he said, holding back an acerbic laugh. Lady Hokage. Last time he checked, the title was _Lord_ Hokage, never to be changed because women never took the seat. He did, however, understand when they called her the best-looking kunoichi in the world.

"Baka. I do not know how your sperm managed to make someone as amazing as Sakura," she snarled.

Robāto rolled his blue eyes, completely disrespecting his elders. It was said that the Legendary Slug Sannin was fifty-four. He was only thirty-one. "Yes, my spawn is talented. It takes a skilled tattletale to put her father in jail."

"She showed me the note you wrote when she turned twelve. You're a horrible man." Then she turned to the guards. "Give him only water and stale bread. I'm leaving."

* * *

Sakura sighed as she ran her fingers through her wet hair. Amazing as it was, the motel had running water, not a hot spring. The floor under her feet was tile. The shower was hidden in one of the corners of the bathroom because it was just a valve with no curtain or anything. There were drains everywhere on the floor. Sakura figured it was because they were trying to keep the water in one place. The walls were as white as the floor tiles. Despite its uncomely outer appearance, the motel was rather nice on the inside.

The rosette washed all the foam from her hair. It was Karin's shampoo, which Sasuke let her use. Let wasn't the right word. It was more like ordered. Sasuke _was_ a clean freak. Sakura turned off the water and dried herself, putting on her usual ensemble. It was dirty. She either needed new clothes or a laundry.

She stepped out of the bathroom and to the large room Sasuke had rented out. It had five large beds. How Sasuke managed to find a room to accommodate the whole team, Sakura'll never know. The floor was covered in an ugly green carpet and the walls were white. The room was empty except for Sasuke, who was running a towel over his wet, navy hair. He had changed his white shirt for the black, sleeveless one. It had a low, V-neck collar and his chest peeked through. Less than in the white shirt, but with him, it seemed less was more. The chest muscles that showed made him more tempting—as if you simply _had _to find out what was underneath.

"Where is everybody?" Sakura wondered. The Haruno tied her red forehead protector into her hair like a headband. The open-toed boots were as comfortable as always.

"At the Kongō Tanoshii," Sasuke answered, turning to Sakura. His onyx eyes stopped on the red fabric that peeked right above Sakura's neck. He stared. Glared. And then he gabbed a kunai from a scroll, walked to her, and pulled the forehead protector off. "You are no longer a ninja of Konoha."

"I know. I just figured it'd make us less susceptible. Konoha ninja come here, you know."

"I don't care." Metal clashed against metal. The point of Sasuke's black kunai scraped at the silver metal of Sakura's forehead protector. The strange swirl of Konoha was marred with the scratch of a traitor. Sakura refused the urge to whimper at the mark as her bangs fell over her face. "You need more clothes," he said instead of addressing what he just did, noticing that she had been wearing the same clothes for the last three days.

Sakura watched Sasuke as he handed back the tarnished protector. She took the cloth in her hands and traced the line. "Sasuke, why the jigoku did you _do_ that?" she asked, incredulous to what had just happened. Her voice, underneath the initial shock, was layered with quivering anger.

"You're part of Team Taka now. Not that horrible little village you call home," Sasuke said, his voice monotonous. His ebon eyes burned holes into Sakura's green ones. "You can wear that proudly as a symbol of loyalty to me or you can throw it out and pretend you were never a part of Konoha."

"Sasuke—"

"Let's go."

* * *

Cha Ha was a beautiful little tea store on the nice side of DenkiMachi. It was separated into booths by multiple paper room dividers. The tables were a foot off the floor and the seats were mats on the ground. Sasuke pulled Sakura into one of the booths.

A maid, in a traditional tealeaf green kimono, served the few people at the table. Yellow flowers decorated the cheep dress. She was tanner than any Japanese person born in it. Wavy black hair flowed to the woman's mid-back. Sakura noticed that the bright green only made the woman's skin look more russet than it actually was.

Sakura looked across the table at Sasuke, who was looking around for people. Who those people were, Sakura didn't know. Sasuke seemed more vigilant than usual. What were they doing here? This was in the village where Itachi was spotted before Sasuke killed him. According to old Konoha records, one of Itachi's hobbies was to visit cafés. Sasuke was a big doer of "do first, think later." He was regretting killing Itachi. Did he want to know more about his brother? It was a crappy time to do so.

The waitress in the green uniformed kimono smiled down at the Sasuke and Sakura, tapping her pen on the clipboard. "Hello, welcome to Cha Ha. My name is Luisanna and I'll be your waitress for today. What would you like? Our special at the moment is Yutaka tea and Ginger Peach, a black tea that we're trying out for the day."

Sakura smiled. The woman—Luisanna—had dark umber colored eyes. They were…interesting. The only people she'd met with brown eyes were Tsunade and TenTen, and their eyes were really light brown. Kind of hazel, but they weren't really dark. They were like Efrain's. Luisanna kind of looked like him too, because of her dark skin. Sakura decided that the woman was Puerto Rican.

"And Sasuke-san?" Luisanna asked. As a ninja, Sakura could tell her happiness was a façade. It was like Sai's smiles—something to cover something else, for Sai it was his utter lack of feeling.

"Black tea. Don't make it sweet."

"Any kind, sir?"

"No."

Luisanna wrote down the things on the yellow writing pad and turned, only to be stopped by a man with messy hair—as if someone had tried to pull it out. "Anna, Fugaku's crying, he keeps saying 'papa'."

The black-haired girl frowned. "Fugaku—not again," she sighed to the ceiling. "_Dios__, __por__ favor, __que se acostumbre__a__ que _Itachi _no estar __aquí __para__él__._"

Aha! Puerto Rican she was! But was she talking about Itachi? Sakura's eyebrows knitted together in confusion. She had learned enough Spanish to know that she was asking something of Kami—"let him get used to Itachi not being there for him" or something.

Sasuke heard his brother's name and grabbed Luisanna's arm. "What do you know about Itachi?" he asked, his eyes red with the Sharingan.

"A lot. Like the fact that he has a son that looks just like him. And that he loved you. Now I got to go; Fugaku's calling me," Luisanna glared, her face stoned. "Thanks for doing that for me, Sasuke. You killed his father before he even met him."

"His father… Woman, what are you talking about?"

Sakura stood from her mat and grabbed Sasuke's strong arm before he did anything. "Sasuke—"

"I'll explain later. Come on, I think you'd want to meet your nephew, you murderer. Come you, too, Sakura."

* * *

**Luisanna—My godbro's name is Luis, and we were singing something (When I Grow Up, by the Pussy Cat Dolls) and he sang the lyrics wrong. Instead of "groupies" he said "boobies" so I started making fun of him. I started calling him Luisanna, because he wanted to have boobies and is a guy, and thus the name. He's my bestest friend. I thought I'd honor his living awesomeness with this one thing.**

**Who do you think Luisanna, who is modeled after me, is? I think I made it obvious, but still…**

**R&R!**

**By the way, Sakura's translation is spot on. Luisanna says, _God, please, let him get used to Itachi not being here for him_.**


	21. Chapter 21

**The only Japanese will be names and cuss words (unless I can't find them). And they still will have the asterisks (*) and translations in at the bottom. If they're not here, they're in a previous chapter. Unimportant names—like store names that are irrelevant to the story and there for visual's sake—will be in English.**

**_READ THIS:_**

**http : / / www . fanfiction . net / s / 6677059 / 1 / How _ To _ Fail _ a_ Kidnapping**

* * *

The sun was warm on Karin's skin. The mud covering her breasts and down, however, had an herbal and cool feel to it. The worker smiled at Karin from above the mud bath. The woman had dark, black eyes and long, soft-looking, sky-blue hair. Karin liked her. She was nice. "Karin-sama, miss, the masseuse is waiting for you. Should I go tell her to take the next one so you can relax?"

Karin sighed, blowing on her freshly manicured nails. They were the color of Sasuke-kun's birthstone; they were a shining, bright, bloody red like that of both the ruby and the Sharingan. They were perfect and long, useful for scratching, which she liked to do. Nothing like Sakura's chipped, short, ugly green nails.

"No thank you," Karin told the woman. Try as she might, she could not remembered the woman's name. She avoided saying it as much as she could, because of that. It started with an E… "Tell her that I'm ready." Karin had already told the woman yes three times. Any longer and she wouldn't have time to go back to the motel before Sasuke-kun did.

"Yes, Karin-sama." The dark-eyed woman scurried away.

Karin loved this. She really, really loved this. Here in the Kongō Tanoshii, there were no little kids scampering around; no mice crawling over her toes; and no _Sakura_. Here, everyone waited on her, hand and foot. If she wanted a heart to eat, one of the workers would slice her own out and give it to her. Here, the only thing missing was Sasuke-kun, whose charka was clearing up from its murky, evil black to the lucid, bright navy blue it was when she first met him.

Karin stood from the sludge and waited as the workers toweled it off her. Another worker gave her a towel to wrap around herself. The same worker led her to the masseuse, readying her on the bed, back up.

Hands worked on her lower back. Karin felt her muscles loosen and the sudden need to coddle something. The woman had hit the root charka, the first charka. The hands moved up on her body, avoiding the towel covering her shiri. "Karin-sama, your first charka is immensely small. It is my guess that you don't like children, no?" The woman's voice was strong and trustable, her accent clipped. All the DenkiMachi had the same accent, even on the other side of town. They all spoke perfect Japanese, with the syllables tight and their vowels clipped.

Karin's eyes blinked open. The bamboo floor greeted her, light dancing across it as the flame on the surrounding candles flickered. "Kami no. Snot-nosed little brats." Karin trailed off into a moan when the woman's hands squirmed around her second charka. The woman's small thumb pressed down and Karin screamed.

"Ah," the woman sighed. "The second charka is large. You are a sexual woman, yes? It appears this part has been denied more than once, Karin-sama."

Karin tried not to arch her back. It was a close battle, but a battle won. This is what she got for getting a charka massage—she couldn't have just gotten a muscular one, _no_: she had to have the charka massage, because her seven charkas were all plugged. She wished he had left them plugged instead of getting them unplugged by a woman; it was embarrassing. The redhead gritted her teeth, waiting for the masseuse to move on. Slim fingers tenderized the muscle around the Sacral Plexus charka. After what seemed like hours, the woman's hands moved up.

"You have a strong will," the woman stated in her sharp voice. The process continued, each time the woman commenting on something about her charka—"Your heart is capable of loving, you must however love the right person" "Your spirit is weak" "You need more schooling" "Your common sense is blurred"—each time Karin trying harder not to voice her thoughts.

As the massage neared its end, Karin's thoughts traveled to Sasuke. Sasuke usually came home early, having nothing else to do, unless he did have something else to do. That didn't help at all, considering the fact that she didn't know what they were doing in DenkiMachi. Vacation? Mission? Killings? Who knew, with Sasuke? There was honestly a lot they could be doing in the Lightning Country—not a lot they could be doing in DenkiMachi, but…

Karin needed about five more minutes for make-up, another ten minutes for shopping… She saw a very nice little lingerie shop in the nice side of town. It would be red, like Sasuke's favorite color. His favorite color was red, right? He had never told her. It was hard to tell.

The redhead sighed as she lifted the towel covering her to her chest and sat up. The fluffy white towel covered her small, white breasts as she wrapped it around herself. Slipping her new and soft wicker sandals from the spa's gift shop, Karin stood up and went to the locker rooms in which her clothes was kept. Men of all shapes and sizes—some more eye-worthy than others—stripped themselves of their boxers, and Karin being Karin could not just let such a show go to waste, now could she?

She watched as a strong-looking thin man with a subtle six-pack ridded himself of his shirt. His thin self made her think of Suigetsu, with his strong arms and tasty abs that he never shows. Karin shook her head clear of thoughts of the blue-haired boy. Tonight was about her and Sasuke. Tonight she would make the Uchiha realize how much he needed—how much he _wanted_—her.

Karin turned from the slender guy and pulled on her own clothes. Time to shop. Time to make sure Suigetsu and Jūgo were out for the night. Where else but downtown DenkiMachi to get a whore that would take them two out of her hands for the night? And then the pink-haired minx… There had to be a job she could volunteer her for around this kudaranai* town; she could rent the minx out as a whore.

Karin would think about that later. Right now, she had lingerie to buy.

* * *

Suigetsu dipped a finger into the red wine staring up at him. Curling the white foam that the bartender put into it around the cup, Suigetsu looked up to Jūgo with boozed eyes. "Dude, we should…should hire some hookers. They need the work, ne?" Sui asked.

"Later," Jūgo mumbled. "I want…I want another drink. Best bars in DenkiMachi…"

* * *

Luisanna lifted a little boy from the playpen in the back room. The little guy had longish navy hair and a shrill, innocent, piercing voice that was growing horse with the energy he was putting into his shout. The baby looked three, maybe four years old. He had the little dents around his nose that gave him to be Itachi's child. In the brief moments that his eyes weren't shut in the effort of his bawl, his eyes were the same dark, chocolaty brown of his mother's. He was long and childishly thin in the strong way that only Uchiha children could pull off, so it seamed. The boy looked strong for his age. He also looked like he was deep in the pool of grief.

Sasuke had to fight the urge to cradle the little boy. He looked much like Itachi. He heard Luisanna coo to the boy, "Shh, baby, shush, Papa's watching over you, shh baby," as she rocked him up and down on arm. Sasuke watched the boy's sobbing died down and his brown eyes edged with red. Sasuke didn't know if it was the red of the boy's tears or if it was the red of a developing Sharingan—if, in fact, this was Itachi's child. That fact was very hard to deny when they boy had the shape of Itachi's eyes, his telltale dents.

"Fugaku, Papa's in the sky, baby," Luisanna cooed, whipping tears from her child's brown eyes. "He loves you. Papa loves you. He even sent his brother to you so you could meet him. Say hi to Uncle Sasuke, Fugaku," she said, whipping the wet tears on her green kimono. The boy swallowed and gripped his mama's short locks. His eyes still wet, the boy…his nephew…ducked down into Luisanna's shoulder. Luisanna's back was turned to them.

Fugaku peeked over his mother's shoulders. "Hi…Uncle Sasuke," he murmured. His voice was timid and boyish.

Sakura smiled as the dark-haired boy said Sasuke's name. Sasuke, however, stared wide-eyed at the child. This was another living, breathing Uchiha he was looking at. This meant he wasn't the only one left. This meant that…Itachi _had_ gotten around to being a father. This boy was…_Uchiha_ Fugaku. The _second _Uchiha Fugaku in the family tree.

The rosette poked the Uchiha privately and Sasuke blinked himself back to life. "Hello," Sasuke said. Sakura smiled at Sasuke's shocked expression. She hadn't seen Sasuke—_the_ Uchiha Sasuke—be _shy_ in years. If she was being honest with herself, she hadn't seen Sasuke shy in _ever_.

"Hey, little guy," Sakura greeted. It seamed as if her days now consisted of meeting new family members every day. "I'm…" She didn't know what to call herself. "I'm Sakura." The little brown-eyed baby waved shyly at her.

Luisanna adjusted the boy on her hip and turned to face the two who had confronted her at her workplace. Her eyes were dancing dismally with pride and misery. Sakura could see that she loved Itachi very much; that she saw snippets of her late love in her son and that it hurt.

Sakura knew that pain. She had felt it. When in Konoha, she passed the Team Seven training grounds every day. She could feel the pain of a remembered love when she saw the three posts. She could see the ghosts of herself and her team—could see Naruto tied up and Sasuke chewing his rice and her offering the tied up Naruto her food so Sasuke wouldn't have to give his up. She could see their friendship starting, and she knew how it ended. That was before Naruto turned into an imbecile that went back on his word; that was when she cared about him. The ghosts of Team Seven, haunting her in the present day.

It had to be much worse for Luisanna. At least there was small hope of Naruto coming to his senses and letting Sasuke into the village, of Sasuke turning to his old somewhat caring self, of being able to forget the black hole that had consumed her life for a few years. There was no hope for Luisanna. Nothing to grab onto in the bleakest moments. Itachi was dead. Gone. Deceased. Call it what you will, there was no hope. Only the memory of a great love lost. Only a child from that great lost love; a big reminder of the happy times; a big lovable remembrance.

"That is Aunty Sakura, baby. She's Uncle Sasuke's best friend," Luisanna said and then thought over her words. _Best friend…_ When Itachi had described his little brother's second family, he said that he had one best friend—the nine-tailed fox, Uzumaki Naruto—and that he had one friend who he would risk even his own life for. He had called that one friend Sakura, and that's how she knew them. If he would risk his life for Sakura, "best friend" couldn't be that far of a stretch. Luisanna shrugged it off. "I'm going to leave you with _Tio Lewis _while me, Uncle Sasuke, and Aunty Sakura talk. Is that okay? Are you going to cry for Papa?"

"Mama, I miss Papa…" were the only words from the boy's pink, innocent lips.

"I miss him too, baby. He's watching over us though. Pray for him and he'll come to you. In your sleep."

With those words, the Puerto Rican put the wet-eyed boy into his playpen and called for the thin, messy-haired man who had called her. Uncle Lewis, Sakura guessed. _Tio_ meant uncle. The woman laid a loving kiss on the boy's forehead and stood, exchanging a few words with Lewis and told Sakura and Sasuke to follow her.

* * *

Naruto grunted as he removed a piece of wood. Sasuke just didn't like to make things easy for his ex-best-friend. What was so _bad_ about leaving a hint, or perhaps even a _trail_! But that was the thing—he was _evil_, therefore leaving a hint or anything like that was too _good_ for him. Or it was good and he would hence not do it. Speaking of which, what was so bad about fumigating? Not that Lerō minded doing it for them, but still! This place wasn't abandoned that long ago and it had cobwebs, rats—because those mother fuckers were bigger than the size of fūma shuriken for Kami's sake—and was that spider? Oh, Kami, _don't_ let it be a spider. Ninja he could kill, but never doubt the power of a spider. Naruto had made that mistake once. He was lucky to live to this day.

From under the bar of wood that Naruto had moved, green-backed beetles and fire ants hurried away. At least there weren't any spiders. Creepy little things… Why in jigoku was he moving rocks anyway? It wasn't as if Sasuke would come out and shout, "Boo!" as if they were playing hide-and-seek. Jigoku, Naruto doubted if the Uchiha could fit—he doubted if _Sakura_, short and slender as she was, would fit. Hinata, of course, wouldn't fit. And Naruto was very proud to be able to hold what wouldn't let her fit in the short nights he was home, and to watch her turn the darkest shade of red as he did so.

He missed Hinata. He missed her shy, stuttering laugh; he missed the way she would laugh at all his jokes, even when they weren't funny; he missed the way they could go on and on about Kami-knows-what when they talked… One moment they could be talking about ninja missions and the next, they could be talking about ramen noodles and peanut butter. He missed how she would stutter so cutely when she wanted to say something she wasn't sure of; how she would faint whenever he said something too vulgar; how she would lift her mouth to give a full, two-sided smile along with a blush; how she would always reach up behind herself to grip his head when he gave her a hug from behind.

Kami, why couldn't Sasuke-teme just randomly show up, show them his wrists, and say, "Take me away, coppers!" Was that so hard to do? He couldn't possibly be having a good time playacting as the villain. Being a villain didn't include tomatoes for heaven's sake!

Naruto felt like a sitting duck. They hadn't even gotten a lead. Tsunade had sent them off on a wild goose chase. All they knew was that Sasuke had sent someone into Konoha, but not from where. He was turning into Kakashi, all unoptimistic…

They would find Sasuke one way or another, Naruto redirected his thoughts. When Sakura got home—in about a day or so—she would help. She and Naruto together would read Sasuke's mind like an open book. They would find him. Speaking of which—

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto shouted. The blonde heard his old teacher's grunt of acknowledgement. "Send a messenger hawk for Sakura, will you! She can help us when she gets home! Mazenta and Jonasan can get along with their brother and Hinata, right!"

"Yes. Fine. She can," Kakashi's voice droned. "Come along. We're going to try the back of the hideout."

There were still miles of uncovered territory to cover in the cave. They might never find their way out.

* * *

Robāto blinked at the opening bars of his cell. They were letting him out? Him, the awful and horrible beater of female ninja? What apocalyptic sign was this? Questioning it internally, the redhead turned his blue eyes to his freer. It was the same man that had told him to "watch it" around him. Except the man wasn't glaring death at him through rusty-colored eyes; instead, the man had an icy, professional air about him. He watched not Robāto, but the wall behind the redhead.

"The headmaster said to let you out for a walk. The police are going to let you socialize because they fear that Sakura-sama anger with them for letting you mind go to insanity. They say, however, that they will be watching your every move," the man said in his scruffy and strong voice. What power had he over him?

The Haruno lifted himself off the concrete thing the law called a bed. It, unsurprisingly, didn't bend under his weight. Robāto's blue eyes turned icy with suspicion. Still, the redhead followed the brunette with less than a trusting glance. It was noon. It was the time he would be getting his bread and water as "Lady" Hokage had ordered in the morn. The sun melted his bronze skin on his muscles as he walked through the unkempt garden ways.

Robāto found himself asking the question that ate at his mind before he could bite his tongue. "Why is it that you lead me?"

The man's messy hair stared at Robāto. He hadn't turned around when he answered, "Because. There are reasons why you should watch yourself. When Sakura-sama comes back, I will personally make sure she wreaks her revenge. And then when I get out of prison—that is, _if_ Lady Hokage doesn't talk her into killing you—I'll wreak my own. But for now…I'm a trusted prisoner."

Robāto rolled his azure eyes. Prison life—what a joke.

* * *

Luisanna had shouted to her boss—someone named "Yū"—that she wanted a personal day off for the rest of the day and to tell another worker to take over her shift. Because of that, the brown-eyed Latina now sat in a soft-looking red chair at the Workers' Lounge with a mug of steaming chocolate. If she had been wearing her green kimono, the sleeves would have pooled around her elbows; but as she wasn't, because she had changed into a red t-shirt and some odd-looking "jeans", they didn't.

Sakura couldn't help but stare at the older woman's pants with puzzled jade eyes. They looked terribly uncomfortable… She remembered when she had first seen Efrain. He had been wearing similar pants, and Kimani too after he'd gotten her used to it. Sakura swore she'd never wear the things. But now she was curious.

Sasuke sat on another chair, leaning forward on the white table with interested keenness. His dark pools of molten onyx stared into his newfound sister-in-law's chocolate eyes. "What is it you know about my brother? When did you meet him? What did he tell you about…us—me and him, Team Seven, ANBU, the Uchiha?" Sasuke intoned ominously.

Luisanna seemed unfazed. "Honey," she chuckled humorlessly, "I slept with your brother—if you want to scare me, you're going to have to try harder." Sakura kept in a laugh. It was funny how true Luisanna's statement was. Itachi was a menacing figure. "He told me it all." The woman seemed off as she said the words. Her voice trailed off into a story as her eyes closed and she drank her thick drink. Her brown eyes were filling to the brim with saltwater. "Itachi told me every dark secret he kept and every evil thing he did.

"He told me that he killed the Uchiha Clan under the orders of the Konoha Council…the Elders…and that he _threatened_ them and Hiruzen to not lay a finger on you, Sasuke. He told me that he told them that if they laid a finger on you, he'd personally go forth with all he knew," Luisanna droned. Crystal clear drops of water came from her eyes in twos and threes. Her voice had cracked on the words _finger _and _personally_. Steam rolled up from the cream-colored mug. The Puerto Rican forced herself to take another long, pained sip from the cup. "Itachi-kun told me that your life was worth more to him than his own. He told me he'd killed a lot of people; he told me that a small part of his soul died with them. He told me that he _wanted_ to die.

"I had tried so hard…" the black-haired woman sobbed the sob of a broken lady. Of one who had lost too much. "I tried to tell him not to talk like that. I tried so hard to convince him otherwise. I tried to tell him of the people that would ultimately miss him—of his little brother, of me, of Kisame, of Yū, of Lewis… He wouldn't listen. He kept telling me of the people he killed—of the blood his dearest brother had shed over him—of the torture he caused—of…of the family he'd missed…" Luisanna whispered the paragraph to herself, her tan digits turning pale with the strength she held the cup. Sakura was sure that if the mug had been a neck, Luisanna would have strangled it.

The Latina looked up from the chocolate swirling in her mug as if suddenly remembering she had company. She took a deep breath and whipped the tears from her cute chipmunk cheeks. "He told me," the brown-eyed girl—she seemed so fragile, it was impossible to not call her a girl—returned to the subject, "he loved you like you were his son. He told me that your team—yours and Sakura's, here—had promise. He told me that Naruto—that is his name right? I think it is—and you were close friends. Itachi-kun told me that Sakura was stronger than she let on and that she just needed a push. Interestingly enough, he told me that he thought she—you, Sakura—was the last of the Senshi Clan.

"Itachi was my best friend. I knew his every feeling, his favorite color, his favorite food—_everything_, other than his thoughts. His thoughts were always hidden from me unless I asked. Which, most of the time, I did." A soft, aching smirk managed its way onto Luisanna's face. It was the throbbing simper of a dead beating heart. Sakura knew it well. "Cabbage and purple," she whispered to herself. "We shared a lot of things… He hated stake though…I will never understand how one hates stake…

"Itachi told me he was in the ANBU at thirteen. Graduated the chūnin academy at ten…so on and so forth," Luisanna said, finally looking at the pair in front of her. Her brown eyes danced from Sasuke's eyes to Sakura's. "I'd tell you more, but the rest is between me and his gravestone. Because of you, Sasuke. Thank you for leaving me a widow at nineteen, love. Thank you for taking my son's father from him."

Her sarcastic words stung through even Sasuke's cold resolve. It was evident that she had practice with arctic composures. Sasuke didn't show it. Sakura felt her eyes go wide. She hadn't ever met someone who could scare a ninja to death. There was bereavement and threat in the woman's brown orbs. Sasuke ignored the jive. He'd deal with the minute fear running down his back later—Sakura had been the only person to manage that. Of course, Sakura's version was much more brawny.

"How'd you meet my brother?" Sasuke's monotone voice asked. His depthless black eyes glared holes into his sister-in-law's mysterious russet eyes.

"He came in once," Luisanna answered. She drank another bit of the now-cold milk and licked it off her top lip. "We started talking. He asked me out. Simple as that."

Sakura had her own question. Out of her mouth came, "And what about _el bebe_?" She was trying out her Spanish. _El bebe_ meant "the baby."

Luisanna smiled. "Sweet, innocent Fugaku… Itachi and I loved him so much together. Now I love him for the both of us." Her tone radiated with pride at the name of her child. "His name came from a late night we once had, when I was three months pregnant. We were talking about his family. His dad. I liked the name. Fugaku is so innocent it's hardly believable. He's so understanding, too."

"Luisanna—"

"Anna, or Ann—please," the black-haired nineteen-year-old corrected.

"Ann," Sakura continued, "I'd love it if I could get to know Fugaku-kun better. He might be depressed. I'd prescribe something for him, if you want…?" Sakura's offer ended in a question, unsure of the unbelieving stare Luisanna was giving her.

"Please! I'm worried about him."

"No prob. Sasuke, I'll…meet up with you later," Sakura told the buff man sitting next to her. Black eyes glared at her. "Or you could stay here with your nephew…?" Sasuke's eyes shinned with dim approval. "If its okay with Ann-chan, of course."

"I'd love for him to get to know his family members."

* * *

**Sasuke was born on July 23rd, just in case. (A day before my sister! If she were a Naruto fan, she'd be eating this up. But she isn't so she won't and I'll do it for her. This is the first time I've been happy to have a sister!)**

**Kudaranai—shitty**

**Fuckers isn't in Japanese because I couldn't find it. :/**

**Let's pray for Japan, shall we? Triple whammy, the poor country. :'( Let's cry. Oh, Masashi Kishimoto, hero of all anime nerds, Lord Amazing, my sweet and lovable overlord, cartooning genius, Japanese protégé, father of Naruto, inventor of Sasuke, creator of Sakura, maker of Kakashi, Itachi virtuoso: I have but one prayer for you, overlord. I pray that you survived the earthquake, for if not, I shall cry. Kishimoto-san, please, be okay.**

**JAPAN! BE OKAY!**


	22. Chapter 22

**The only Japanese will be names and cuss words (unless I can't find them). And they still will have the asterisks (*) and translations in at the bottom. If they're not here, they're in a previous chapter. Unimportant names—like store names that are irrelevant to the story and there for visual's sake—will be in English.**

**_READ THIS:_**

**http : / / www . fanfiction . net / s / 6677059 / 1 / How _ To _ Fail _ a_ Kidnapping

* * *

**

Jūgo stumbled along the side of the dirt roads. There was no pavement on the roads of DenkiMachi's less respected side—or on the better-respected side for that matter. So far, the drunken man had seen only one cart with huge, mile-wide wheels that was pulled by manpower. According to that, there was no need for pavement.

The orange-haired man staggered around, gripping onto thin air and, accidentally, the side of stone buildings. He had never been this stoned. He doubted he had ever had more than twenty shots at a time! Living under Orochimaru's roof had advantages such as a high alcohol resistance, and therefore for him to be drunk was one of the hardest things in the world to accomplish—harder, even, than getting Sasuke to show feelings other than hate, rage, and annoyance.

Jūgo felt his orange eyes swim over sights and warp them. Was that a penguin on the road over there, or a tux shop mannequin? Jūgo felt it was a penguin, despite the warmth that contradicted him and his gut. Arms outspread before him like Frankenstein, the gentle giant slowly walked to the penguin in the middle of the storefront on the road.

Sasuke would let him keep the penguin as a pet…the Uchiha had snakes…Suigetsu had his whore-pets…Karin had her shopping money…Sakura—that was her name—had Sasuke…they all had something to keep them happy… It was only fair for Jūgo to have a penguin. Patty the Penguin…Peter the Penguin…Penelope the Penguin…Polo the Penguin…Pretty the Penguin…something with a P…

Unless it was a tux. But Pāsonzu* the Penguin couldn't be a tuxedo. He had a cute little orange beak. Jūgo wanted a penguin! He would bring Pāsonzu the Penguin to the motel and watch them _try_ to get him to take the penguin out.

Jūgo wanted an imawashii* penguin for Kami's sake! He wanted a penguin…

* * *

Suigetsu gave a slurred, drunken laugh. The little rascal he had picked up was feisty! Threw him right onto the bed, she did! The blonde prostitute climbed over him and watched him with dark purple eyes. As she sucked on Suigetsu's tan neck, Suigetsu wondered what had become of Jūgo…the thought was washed away with the girl's hand on his chest.

Fun tonight…

Karin would be _so_ pissed off when he told her. Suigetsu smiled at the thought and pulled the blonde girl closer.

* * *

Karin sprinkled the flower petals on the bed. The red roses left their soft, flowery smell behind. The redhead smiled as she threw out the plastic bag. The sun was going down, the boys had not come back—and once they heard the moaning, they would know not to—and Sakura had a little "job" to do. Candles flickered throughout the decent sized room, giving it a dark, romantic feel.

Sasuke had gotten a twenty by thirty room with barely enough room to walk in, two bathrooms, a small kitchen adding a small ten by ten nook to the twenty by thirty room, and three beds. Karin figured that one of them was for her and him, another for Suigetsu and Sakura—eck—and the third for Jūgo. The biggest one was the one she had layered in flower peddles.

Incense burned in a bowl atop the bedside table. It smelled sweet and aromatic. Karin grinned at her work and glanced down at her outfit. She was wearing a see-through corset with laces instead of hooks so Sasuke wouldn't get frustrated, a thin, red thong, and see-through lingerie stockings attached by ribbons to her corselet. If this didn't make him want to rip the little clothes she had off her, she didn't know what would.

* * *

Sakura watched as Luisanna put Fugaku into his crib. She watched through verdigris orbs as a blue blanket with the Uchiha emblem was wrapped around the boy. He was so sweet, so innocent, and, shockingly, he _understood_ that his father was gone. He could communicate easily though his words were rounded with the baby accent and he spoke Spanish every now and then.

She, Sasuke, and Fugaku had spent the past hour or so playing peek-a-boo. The man Sasuke turned into when he was around kids reminded Sakura just why she loved him so much and fanned the flames of her amour. Sasuke had smirked more than she had ever seen him. Fugaku laughed and giggled a lot. But when he wasn't distracted, Sakura could see the tears building up, and she was sure Sasuke could see it too. As a doctor, she could tell that the boy didn't really _want_ to play; she knew it was depression sinking in.

Sakura ran a hand through her bangs, moving them back on her head. They'd been getting in her eyes since the morning when Sasuke clawed it with his kunai. She still felt a pang of sadness at the thought of the red headband, now marred with an unfixable scratch. She shook her head of the thought. "Anna," she said, her tone layered with a kind of foreboding that could not be ignored, "he's got major depression." Luisanna's face fell. "I'll give you a kid-friendly prescription for him. He's only in the first few stages." Sakura watched the young mother with sad eyes. "But he'll make it out."

Sasuke watched the sleeping Uchiha child. "He's got the Sharingan. My guess is that he got it when Itachi didn't come home. He just hasn't had need to use it," interrupted he.

Luisanna and Sakura blinked at him through unbelieving eyes. It wasn't like she didn't think it would come, Luisanna thought, she just never thought it would come so soon. She hadn't seen any change in Fugaku, and Lewis didn't tell her anything. Her baby could not be getting the kekkei genkai. Not so soon.

"How do you know, Sasuke?" Sakura asked, her sage-colored eyes staring.

Sasuke blinked once and his eyes turned the blood red of the kekkei genkai he said his nephew had. He glanced over at the newest generation of Uchiha and back, blinked, and the scarlet color was gone. Sakura nodded. Luisanna crossed her arms and sighed.

Her dark eyes focused on Sasuke. "What do you want me to do about it? If Itachi were here"—she walked closer, her eyes narrowing—"he would train him. But he isn't. And do you want to know why, Uchiha Sasuke?" She was closing in on him, her eyes menacing. She was six, maybe seven, inches shorter than Sasuke's five foot six, but her expression made up for it. Sasuke did not flinch. "Because you got rid of him! Because you got your revenge! Because you got selfish and didn't think of Itachi—or me—or Fugaku—or even your parents! Do you think they wanted him dead—by his brother's hand no less! Did you even _consider_ that Itachi-kun might have a family that would miss him—a son that would go through life, wondering who his father was?" Her voice raised and cracked; she punctuated each sentence with a poke to Sasuke's built chest. Tears were running down her tanned cheeks. "No! You didn't! And now look! Now…now look…"

Sakura put a hand on the shorter woman's shoulder. The rosette curled her arms around the mother and hugged her as she cried. Sasuke's cold façade didn't change, instead his mouth shaped words—words shocking to everyone who knew him: "I'm sorry." He knew it wouldn't make anything better, he know it wouldn't bring Itachi back, and he knew it wouldn't give Fugaku a father. "I regret killing Itachi."

"_Regret won't do a thing!_" Luisanna roared. Tears ran like unstopped waterfalls from her sad brown eyes. "Regret…regret…regret… Itachi talked about it all the time. 'I hope he won't regret it' 'I regret killing them'… I miss him so much, Sakura, so, so much, Sasuke."

Sakura hugged the Puerto Rican tighter and then held her at arm's length. The Haruno's viridian eyes searched umber eyes. She could see the pain, fresh as if it had happened yesterday. "Stay strong for Fugaku," Sakura said, and then took her arms away from her. "Now. Where's Lewis? We've got to get going and I'm not leaving you here like this."

* * *

Kiba glared up at the cracking railings. Akamaru barked squeakily in his pint-sized voice. The bark was soon followed by a deep and long growl. Akamaru's already narrowed gray eyes narrowed farther as he glared up at the rails; he bit Kiba's leather jacket, letting his partner know what he already knew. Kiba patted the now-small dog's head and watched the crack in the wooden bars supporting the dry and cracking roof. Had it already been there? Kiba had no time to speculate.

"Guys," he shouted into the empty brownness of the hall to his right, "dudes, code red!" The Inuzuka gave his partner-in-good another pat on the head. "Ceiling's caving in! We got to _go_!" Kiba hollered into the hall. When he turned his head back to his dog, the animal had grown to more than five times its size. He had to duck his white-furred head to fit in bellow the caving roof. They had time—seconds of time maybe, but time nonetheless. Kiba jumped onto the back of his friend. Like a horse, the dog galloped through the hall. The ground rumbled beneath his paws. Kiba's voice echoed through the corridor followed by Akamaru's endless howl.

They found Naruto and Kakashi digging through rubble in the back. Naruto was wiping his tan fingers on his orange pants; a spider crawled away from the ninja and Naruto look frightened out of his pants. Kakashi was dusting the dusty walls for fingerprints, a useless job. Kiba, ninja as he was, noticed all this milliseconds before screaming, "Ceiling's caving in! We got to _go_; get out now!"

Pairs of blue and black eyes blinked and stared for a millisecond. Then the four sprang into action. Naruto grabbed onto Akamaru's fur and hopped onto the dog's back; Kakashi leaped onto Akamaru's head. Akamaru turned to the way they came and ran out.

This was the stupidest thing to have done—to come out hundreds of thousands of miles into the back of a rotting cave that could drop at any seconds, Kiba thought as he gripped Akamaru's pelt hard enough to both keep him on and hurt the dog's skin, which Kiba wasn't proud of. "The cracking started from where I was watching—I think it spread to where we are now!" the brunette called to Kakashi over the rushing wind.

Naruto dug his hands into Akamaru's capable skin. "Well duh it started from where you were watching! Where the jigoku else would it start from! We need to get out! Where's the exit?"

Kiba ignored him and instead listened to Kakashi say, "Tell Akamaru to head to the northeastern side! The entrance is there; we can go out the way we came in!"

An earsplitting crack froze Akamaru for an instant. And then he ran faster than he had ever done before. The rumbling of rolling rocks followed them; destruction and stone was left in their wake. Kakashi let out a string of inexhaustible profanities as one fifteen-foot boulder narrowly missed them. Akamaru whimpered as the same boulder snagged on his tail, ripping away a few snow-colored hair.

They made it to the northeast side. The four could feel the air getting thicker as they got closer to the surface. The sound of rockslides and rumbling earth hadn't been left behind yet. Every yard they made was a yard lost to pebble and stone.

"How far?" Naruto shouted. He was getting some sort of sick excitement from this game of cat and mouse. He wanted to brush his hair away from his azure eyes, but he knew that if he let go he would die in the rocks. The gray light of the moon answered his question.

Akamaru didn't stop until they were a mile away from the entrance. The dog pawed at the dust and turned to the entryway of the hideout. It was covered with a dust cloud. The ground above the entrance way had yielded in. There was a big crack in the ground beyond the dust blur. Naruto watched as the cloud went away with an open jaw as he got off. Kakashi hopped off Akamaru's head. Kiba petted Akamaru soothingly, a silent thanks for the save and a silent apology for the tight grasp.

"Well," Naruto said, regaining control of his mouth, "any evidence that was in there is gone."

Kakashi watched the dust recede for a long while, then, he turned to his team with a grave look in his black eye. "Where's Shikamaru?" he asked, his voice dead.

Naruto and Kiba blinked, a sinking feeling nesting in their chests. Where _was_ Shikamaru?

* * *

Tsunade tipped back her empty jug of Sake, trying to get at least a drop of alcohol from it. Her eyes dim from the haze of firewater, Tsunade read the squiggles that passed as words. She was working well into the night, signing papers and stamping bills. This one had something about a family who lost a son to a ninja mission. It said something about getting 10,000 ryō a month to help them stay alive until the woman got a job and then it would lower to 9,000 ryō.

The blonde signed the two shapes of her name and put the pages aside. Her misted-over hazel eyes skimmed over the next page. The words didn't make any sense anymore. She signed it and turned it onto the pile labeled "gomi* that's done," then turned to the last page of the "gomi that's not done" pile.

Tsunade wondered, briefly, about what would happen tomorrow when Sakura got home. How Robāto's trial would go? Would Sakura have the heart to condemn her father as she well should? Nothing to do but wait.

* * *

Robāto watched the iron bars glow with the gray moonshine. The day had been less dull than yesterday. Still, however, no visit from his greedy mesu of a child. He didn't care. He couldn't care less. Couldn't care at all.

The sun had slipped into the earth by the time he was inside the big house. It had been a seven-hour allowance of sun. Tomorrow the other inmates would be allowed outside while he rotted away inside his cell, surviving only on stale bread and dirty water. He had heard talk of breaking out. Those were the inmates he befriended today. In three weeks' time, they would help each other break out. And when that happened, oh, when that happened…

His little ninja girl better watch her back.

* * *

Sasuke watched as Sakura tapped the glass of a modern storefront display window. A burgundy thick silk ribbon was there on display. It had subtle pink flowers on it. If he wasn't a ninja, he was sure he would have missed the almost unnoticeable change in color. Next to it, a rust-red leather jacket lay along with some forest-green spandex capris and a black mesh-shirt.

Sakura turned from the beautiful silken band to glare at Sasuke. "You're going to buy this for me out of your own pocket, Sasuke, because you scratched my forehead protector," she said calmly. Her spring green eyes threatened him to refuse.

Sasuke rolled his onyx eyes and entered the open door of the store, Sakura hot on his trail. He knew it was going to close soon. Candles lit the room and workers were just closing the willow cash register. He went up to the register clerk and asked in a tone more like an order, "How much for the clothes in the window?" Sakura smiled at her victory.

"Forty ryō," the brunette woman answered. She glanced with tired gray eyes at the girl behind the handsome teen. "But for you and your girl, here, we can lower that price to thirty-five ryō if you subscribe to the store's members' policy." A growing city it was, trying to milk every cent out of their visitors.

"No," Sasuke deadpanned. He dug a hand into his black shirt and pulled out exactly forty ryō. The woman frowned and disappeared into the backroom. Minutes later, she came back with the red outfit and the thick head ribbon.

As she packed the outfit into a white bag, she placed the ribbon before Sasuke and Sakura. "Would you like the matching tie? Ten ryō extra. But I'm sure it is nothing for you if your pretty little girlfriend wants it," the clerk mentioned. Sasuke took out an extra ten.

"We aren't together," Sakura claimed, her voice layered with a timid laugh. "He owes me."

"No?" the woman asked, surprised. "He's a good friend, he is. Would you mind my knowing your names?" The bag crackled as she put in the ribbon.

"We do mind," Sasuke murmured, trading the ryō for the bag. "Good day."

The woman smiled kindly as the two left the building and then continued to pack her things up. Outside, Sakura said, "I didn't ask for the clothes. Just the ribbon."

Onyx eyes glanced down the three inches to the top of Sakura's head. Sasuke passed the bag over to her. He wasn't going to carry shopping bags—he was no woman! "You needed some clothes," he commented. The Uchiha glanced at Sakura's dirtied ensemble.

"Thank you, Sasuke." This time, she had to hold the oncoming _–kun_ from leaving her lips. This was the Sasuke she knew. This was the one she loved. This was Uchiha Sasuke he would have become if nothing as horrible as his parents and family being killed would have happened.

* * *

**Pāsonzu—Parsons**

**Imawashii—damn(ed)**

**Gomi—crap**

**Akamaru **_**does**_**, in fact, have gray eyes. In his toxin-infected form, his eyes are somewhat open and it shows them as being gray.**


	23. Chapter 23

**The only Japanese will be names and cuss words (unless I can't find them). And they still will have the asterisks (*) and translations in at the bottom. If they're not here, they're in a previous chapter. Unimportant names—like store names that are irrelevant to the story and there for visual's sake—will be in English.**

**_READ THIS:_**

**http : / / www . fanfiction . net / s / 6677059 / 1 / How _ To _ Fail _ a_ Kidnapping**

* * *

Karin rested atop the cotton sheets that the motel had clothed the beds with. They were green and an eyesore, but they were all she had. The bed was strong and didn't let her back sag—which was just another way of saying hard and uncomfortable. She had a feeling it wasn't rested in much. No matter, she and Sasuke would _make_ it soft. Playing with the straps on her scant outfit, the big-hipped redhead wondered when Sasuke would make his appearance. The sun had go down long ago—about an hour ago—and the moon was shining its gray shine everywhere. Sasuke had yet to come home for his surprise.

There was a big, bulky, boxy, and mean-looking man outside waiting for Sakura. Karin had made sure he wouldn't get confused with anyone else; she had give him the exact neon-bubblegum-pink shade of her hair, the exact green of her big, barf-worth eyes, and her exact sickeningly petite body. With the third leg he had as a boner, Karin knew that Sakura wasn't getting anywhere near the sweet-smelling motel room.

If Suigetsu wasn't here by now, he wasn't getting home anytime soon. Probably caught up with some HIV-, STD-, and AIDS-infected little whore. The thought boiled her stomach acids. She felt the need to vomit. But no, after the massage, mud-bath, and manicure she had been given, there was no way in jigoku that she was running for the bathroom when Sasuke could come through the door in the kitchen at any second.

As for Jūgo, he was probably lost somewhere on the streets helping butterflies find their ways into their cocoons or something.

Thinking so, Karin sat in her most provocative pose and waited for Sasuke to get here.

* * *

Sakura giggled. Her red shirt was reaching over her head and her mess-shirt only covering her because it was tucked into her cotton skirt. Pebbles were digging into the palm of her hands. The moonlight, silvery and gray, made her porcelain skin shine. Her blush was made gray by the same light. The only reason she was blushing was because all the blood was rushing from her toes to her head. Her legs hung above her. She walked on her hands before Sasuke, her feet carrying the bag full of leather jacket, mesh-shirt, ribbon, and pants.

"Come on, Sasuke!" the Haruno laughed. The blood rushing in her ears made her giddy. Plus the fact that Sasuke had gotten her new clothes without so much as a 'hn' was a factor on its own. "I need a shower—badly!" To emphasize her point, she stood on one hand, lifting her left arm up. Sasuke walked to her, curling his upper lip as if he smelled something, which he didn't. That was the most expression he gave her. His eyes—the beautiful, ebon portals to his soul—changed briefly to show remembrance and harden again, slipping away with his fake expression.

The click-clack-clacking of the Uchiha's sandals on the dusty roads made Sakura walk again. She lifted the palms of her hands one by one and walked on her hands, the paper bag slamming against her leg with a crackling sound. She was getting a headache. Realizing this, she jumped five feet into the air, flipped, and landed on her feet. She felt dizzy for a few seconds and then smiled, grabbing the paper bag on its paper straps before it landed on the floor.

They were yards away from the motel. She could see the handwritten sign; she could spot the boxy, square man at the door, also. Sakura shrugged her shoulders. "I wonder how Burūsu is doing," Sakura murmured. Her bottle-green eyes darted to the sky. The thought she would think whenever she missed Sasuke in Konoha came to her mind: No matter how far they were, they would always be looking at the same sky, the same sun, the same moon, and the same stars. She missed the boy's snakelike green eyes; his close-shaven black hair; his beautiful enthusiasm. She also missed her mother, but she was used to that yearning pain. And Nao and Cherushī and their big, innocent eyes. But Sasuke only knew Burūsu and Nao; she doubted that he even remembered Nao anyway.

"He's fine," Sasuke mumbled, his dark eyes on the man in front of them, getting closer and closer with every step they took. There was mal-intent surrounding the box-shaped man. "You'll see him in two weeks; by then they should have realized you weren't coming back."

"We'll be back in two weeks?" Sakura repeated. "What about Fugaku and Luisanna? Can't they come with us?" If she wasn't there to make sure Fugaku was taking his pills, who would? Not that she doubted Luisanna's capability, but the Puerto Rican was no doctor. Jigoku, she was suffering from depression herself! If Sasuke had killed the provider of their family, the least he could do was help, right? Feed them, clothe them, shelter them—they _were_ the only family he had left, when all was said and done. Luisanna seemed to get that, no matter how much she lashed out at him. She understood that when all was done and over, she would _have_ to forgive him, for the sake of her son. For the sake of the Uchiha.

Sasuke didn't say a thing. He glared strait ahead, seeing all and watching nothing. "They've made do. They can continue to do that." His voice held no emotion. It was as if he had put up that stone barrier that had been around when they had met again last year, the same stone exoskeleton that she had broken through when she had offered to make him dinner those few days ago. Had it been two? It seemed like so much longer.

Sakura held back a complaint. They were at the open doorway into the motel, right next to the big guy. He didn't scare Sakura; she had faced men ten times bigger and more dangerous with one hand tied behind her back. It did, however, puzzle her when the man put up a boxy arm to stop her. She looked up at the man—one foot taller than her and Sasuke—with a mystified expression. "Excuse me," she said as politely as she could.

The man's dark eyes—too dark to tell what color they were—glared down at her lustfully. "Come with me, Pinky," he growled, biting down on his lip. Sakura's mind flashed quickly to a pair of yellow snake eyes in her mind's-eye. She remembered who used to call her that, memories from when she was three flashing in her head. She remembered how much she loved that name, and, now, how wrong it sounded off the man's lips.

"Um, no," she swiftly said, her reaction immediate. Sasuke's eyes flashed from black to red and back in three milliseconds. "Who are you anyways? Looking for a whore? Try the next block around."

"Let us in," Sasuke said, his voice low and menacing.

The stranger's upper lip curled up into a bitter smile. A kid, little over sixteen he guessed, was protecting the whore he paid a good ransom for? It was pure gold to think about. "Let's have a look-see then. A sixteen-year-old trying to protect his little girlfriend. I'm sorry little man, her pimp—a nice girl, imagine that, horrible-looking though—lent her to me for a nice little sum," he said, glaring down at Sasuke.

Sasuke's eyes turned red, spinning with the Sharingan, and narrowed. Even in the street, where their only light was the moon's dull shine and the flickering candles from the few awake neighbors, his beautiful eyes shined like fresh blood. Who was this man—if he could be called a man, for what "man" would go buying women—to be calling him, _an Uchiha_, though gladly not the last one anymore, a "little man"? He, who had been through more life than life itself, was no "little man"; for crying out loud, he was a ninja—the Sound's Kage, Taka's leader. And as such, he would _not_ let some pervert hit on, try to control, or bed his new weapon; not while he was alive and kicking.

"What 'nice girl'?" he asked, his red eyes holding the man's colorless eyes. The stranger tried to look away, but it was as if he was anchored, pulled to him, stuck to those eyes. It was almost impossible. He had heard of those with that 'gift' but he thought they were all extinct. Ulia? Umaha? Uchiha, was it? Yes, that was it; from that myth that started around six, seven years ago, _The Uchiha Massacre_. The myth said that two survived: the one that killed and the one that wasn't killed. But it was a myth, wasn't it? No one, at least not those that lived, had ever met an Uchiha after that.

"She had red hair!" the man, with what looked like a limping third leg, Sakura noticed, whimpered. He wasn't even held by the neck and he was spilling his guts. Wonder how he'd do if he were. "Her hips were big. She told me that she had a girl with pink hair and green eyes that would do me a favor, for a price. I knew the favor, so I asked the price. She told me to not let her go into the motel, only to let the man with her in. She said man so I didn't think it was you! She told me that the girl might not be with the man."

Sasuke nodded. Sakura's pink head rose. Karin hated her so much as to sell her for the night? And this man was sick enough to _pay_? A vain popped in her forehead. She was a ninja for crying out loud, not a whore! Jigoku, she was still a virgin! "And you _paid_ for me? You actually have the indecency to _pay_ for me? You yarō…" Sakura growled. Her fists were tight. They flew past her sides and into the tall man's boxy cheek. Blood gushed from his nose. He slammed right into the motel wall, although not strong enough to break through them. There was no blood on Sakura's knuckles. She punched his jaw. Teeth came flying out three feet into the air, landing on the man's bald head. "Stay there," Sakura growled, pulling Sasuke into the motel.

They walked through the hallways at a breakneck speed. Sakura was angry. She was irritated. She was fuming. She was…she didn't know what she was. She just knew that she wanted to crack a skull and break a neck. "Why would she—how _could_ she—what would make her—" Her voiced thoughts were overlapping themselves. Sasuke had long since pulled his muscular arm from her strong grip and was now following Sakura, his eyes flickering from black to red, back and forth, to and fro.

Sasuke crinkled his nose as he got closer to Room 150. There was a cloying saccharine smell lofting off the cracks under the door. He hated sweets. There was flickering light slipping through the door too. Sakura's nose was too okotte off to really smell anything. Her hand reached for the gold-colored doorknob, the smell hitting her nose like a wrecking ball. This had Karin's name written all over it; only _she_ would think of putting sweet-smelling gomi in a household where the leading man hated sweet things, -smelling or otherwise. Unless she didn't know that.

And was planning to use that sweet-smelling thing to her "advantage."

Sakura's jade-colored eyes widened and she moved her hand away from the doorknob; Sasuke grabbed for it. Sakura rested her hand on his. It was warmer than most people would think, considering the fact that he had no human contact with anyone, ever. His skin was soft too—as soft as the hand of a ninja that killed a lot could be. They were calloused and soft, contradicting themselves nicely. "Make noises," Sakura whispered. "Like you're about to open the door."

Sasuke looked at her, an eyebrow cocked curiously.

"I think…," Sakura creased her pink eyebrows curiously, questioning her own idea, "I think Karin's got a surprise for you. That's why she wanted to keep me occupied, so to speak, the mesu."

Sasuke heard the emphasis on the word surprise. There was only one "surprise" a fan-girl like Karin would plan. He remained expressionless. He didn't do as the Haruno asked. Sakura rolled her mesmerizing bright green eyes—a green that hardly seemed human, Sasuke noted. Sakura jiggled the doorknob, trying to let Karin know. She opened it, stomped in, and stopped in the kitchen, which the door opened to. It was dark; the only light was a slight glow from the bedroom area, flickering on and off, dancing with the breeze that entered through the door.

Sakura shivered at the thought of what lie beyond the archway of the door. Sasuke went in first, paying no heed to the flickering lights, cloying sent, or the big-hipped woman twirling her red hair. Sakura went in next, holding her breath. Karin was scantly dressed. Her outfit was scarlet and two sizes too small. Sakura thought it might fit her. "Sasuke-kun," Karin whined, trying to crawl through the mess of silk sheets she had entangled herself in, "come back!" Sasuke made a tsk sound of disgust and stormed into the master bathroom.

Sakura stood awkwardly in the corner of the large room. "Well…" she murmured, just loud enough for Karin to hear, "that was smart. Next time, try to be someone attractive?" She knew kindness was down the drain the moment Karin _hired_ someone to _rape_ her.

"Shut up, mesu! At least he _looked_ at me! That's more than you can say for yourself," Karin hissed, lifting herself from the bed. Sakura shivered at the sight of her thong. It wouldn't have killed her to lift the sheet, would it?

Sakura directed her sight to the flickering candlelight, avoiding the ghastly sight of Karin. "He protected me from that yarō you hired. I doubt he would ever do that for you. I'm going to go take a bath and go to sleep if you don't mind. And for the record, Karin dearest, that bed is mine and Sasuke's," Sakura said, using the word dearest in a sarcastically sweet way. The bag she was carrying made a crinkling sound as the rosette turned to the second bathroom. She flicked on the lights. "I'll let you figure that out if you don't believe me though." The door slammed behind her and Karin heard Sakura turn on the water.

* * *

Naruto stomped on the packed, dry earth. He ran his hands through his hair and gripped the dirty yellow stands, pulling hard on them. "Awh, seikō, seikō, seikō! Sakura-chan's going to _kill_ us for killing him!" he shouted into the black sky. "Shikamaru! He should have heard the roof collapsing! He should have run out! He was so against going inside in the first place! He shouldn't have gone too far inside; he was—"

Kakashi interrupted him. His voice was somber, like on one of those times when he had just finished the latest Icha Icha book and didn't have the next one. The usual perverted grin in his voice was gone, replaced with senseless numbness. "He's gone. Another one added to the Book of the Dead; we need to go." The silver-haired ninja started walking farther away from the site of destruction.

Kiba scratched Akamaru behind the ears absently. His dark, thin eyes were trained on the disappearing cloud of dust, which was long gone by now. How could… Shikamaru couldn't be gone. He had survived so much…it wasn't possible for him to be gone. What would his parents say? What would Lee and TenTen think? What would Ino and Chōji say? How many tears would the Nara Clan shed? No, no, no—Shikamaru had to live for them.

The Inuzuka gripped onto his partner's fur and steered him towards the annihilation spot. He was going to find Shikamaru's lazy shiri and drag the Nara home. If the Nara wasn't alive…well, Kiba'd drag his corpse home. His family should have something to cry over. But he was alive. He was.

"Kiba!" Naruto shouted, turning his head from fleeing Kakashi to the retreating Kiba. "Kakashi—Kiba's going back!" Kakashi stopped and ran in the direction of Kiba. Naruto followed. A ninja dog was ten times faster than a human—even _if_ that human was a hundred times faster than a normal being.

* * *

Jūgo watched the penguin watched him through a glass separation. The giant's lips were pulled into a pout. He fumbled with them, trying to shape them so a decent whistle would go through them. It took him a few seconds, but he managed to make a sound; it was mangled, but nonetheless it was a sound.

There was something weird about Pāsonzu's beak. It wasn't orange and it wasn't black and white. In fact, Jūgo had trouble figuring out a face on the penguin. It took him a while before he noted that it wasn't a penguin. Being drunk had deprived him of his senses to know so.

With a pout on his usually neutrally kind face, Jūgo stumbled along the dark streets. A rock tripped him. The gentle giant fell. In his mind, he slept on a bed of clouds; in reality, however, he slept in the middle of the road.

* * *

Robāto thrashed in his bed.

Hebia…death…Sakura…blood… He saw a pair of yellow eyes with thin pupils glare at him with something that could only be hatred. He could only see the white skin around the eyes; Robāto couldn't see the person's face or features, just those chilling eyes.

_Is that what you want, Robī?_ a voice whispered. Robāto didn't have to see a mouth moving to know who was talking: the eyes. _You want your only child dead, your wife—excuse me, _ex_-wife__—lost forever? That's the hope you've been harboring, whether you like it or not: you've been wishing she'd come back; that my sister would somehow reappear._

The Haruno twisted. The words with S's were dragged out from the person in his mind with a snakelike sound, like how his wife and her brother used to say them. He wanted to shout, to scream, but he couldn't. Sweat dripped down his red brows.

_Don't threaten my niece. I've heard your thoughts. Hell isn't all it's cracked up to be, Robāto. I can hear your thoughts. I can hear my sister's thoughts. Sakura's thoughts as well are clear as day. I will haunt you for the rest of your horrible, unearned life if you so much as lay a finger on one of them,_ the voice, slimy and disturbing as the eyes that stared him in his mind's eye. _Touch my nephew, either, and your life will be filled with as much hate and desperation as mine was._

Robāto curled on himself. His sleeping stomach filled with bile.

_You may awaken now, mesu._

At the sound of that, the imprisoned father gasped in a breath of air. His eyes shot open. Robāto glared at the icy concrete wall. Who was that? Had his mind made it up? "As much hate as mine was…" the redhead murmured. The word that echoed in his alert mind was "was." That meant the person was dead. Who, other than Hebia and possibly his parents who he had lost connection with some years back, would sneak into his mind?

Niece. Sister. Sakura. Hebia.

_Oreo!_ That was what his ungrateful wife and daughter called the snake-obsessed freak. Orochimaru, the weirdo that forced him into marriage. The one that, when he had first seen the twins at age ten, was shouting, "Hebia, don't eat that worm!" at the top of his lungs. The one that disapproved with Hebia first started going out with him. That Orochimaru guy was dead. And he was now torturing his mind.

Well. Robāto wouldn't break.

* * *

Chapter 23! R&R! 


	24. Chapter 24

**The only Japanese will be names and cuss words (unless I can't find them). And they still will have the asterisks (*) and translations in at the bottom. If they're not here, they're in a previous chapter. Unimportant names—like store names that are irrelevant to the story and there for visual's sake—will be in English.**

**_READ THIS:_**

**http : / / www . fanfiction . net / s / 6677059 / 1 / How _ To _ Fail _ a_ Kidnapping**

* * *

Sasuke let the water of the shower punch his back; the pressure was working out the kinks in his back. For Kami's sake, what the jigoku just happened out there? Had Karin just tried to seduce him using sweet-smelling stuff and lingerie? What the—? Can't the mesu take a hint? It would take him millions of drinks just to get that horrible image out of his head. He was Uchiha Sasuke; he should not be stunned by something his teammate did. But for god's sake, that was just scarring! He was pretty sure that seeing Karin as he had would cause him more nightmares than seeing Itachi, covered in their family's blood, at eight. And that was _years_ of nightmares. He could hardly imagine the dreams. As a matter of fact, he didn't want to. For Kami's sake—

Iesu*, Sasuke could hardly imagine the nightmares Sakura would be having. She wasn't used to Karin's antics. He could imagine the pink-headed girl waking everyone up in the middle of the night with her incessant screaming like she used to when she was little. Now that he thought back to it, her midnight screaming happened a lot. Sakura would chalk it up to worries about the mission, but had it really been? Had it truly been memories about her abusive father that kept her screaming at night? If so, Sasuke didn't know how to feel about it. When he thought of the redheaded man now, a rage came to his muscles, he knew his eyes turned the red of the Sharingan, and he just wanted to kill. That was what the little voice inside his head, which now sounded a lot like Itachi, told him: _Murder._

It was just the fact that he hadn't known, Sasuke told himself. It was just that her bruises and pain had been hidden from him when almost nothing else sneaked around him. It was just that he was mad at the redhead for being able to keep this from the sharp eyes of an Uchiha.

Sasuke ran his fingers through his navy hair and sighed into the warmth of the water. He'd never thought that tedious necessities like warm running water would affect his mood, but right now, after seeing what he was sure would eventually burn his retinas into nothingness, the warm water was heaven. Sasuke let the water run about his body, letting the warmth wipe away his disgusting memory.

* * *

Sighing, Sakura wrapped the towel around herself. The motel's fluffy towels comforted her when she thought that nothing would comfort her more than her own bed, which was miles and miles away in Konoha. Right now, she was dressed in her old ratty green biking shorts, rubbing at her eyes, sleepy. She ran her fingers through her pink hair, which was now in thick curls because of the water drying. When water dried on her hair, it pruned her hair up into wet curly ringlets, giving her a schoolgirl look.

She stopped rubbing at her eyes and dropped the towel into the hamper, walking to the mirror; she looked at herself—her pink hair, her flat stomach, pink with the blood running under it, her full breasts, far too big for any sixteen-year-old, and her long legs—and sighed. Did Sasuke even like thin girls—did he prefer women with big bodies, ones that could, no doubt, harbor healthy children? Did he like short hair or long? Did he like women with opinions instead of mindless cooking robots? Did he like violent girls or peaceable girls?

Sakura exhaled deeply. She looked at her the one strap on her bra and adjusted it, then she worked out the kinks in her mesh-shirt, and washed her face. She turned to walk out the bathroom.

Karin was still on the largest bed, her head resting on her hand, her eyes locked on the door of the largest bathroom. Sakura gave a silent snicker. She just didn't know when to give up, did she? Sakura knew she should probably ease up on the girl—she was like that herself when she was younger—but she couldn't bring herself to be. For the love of Kami, Karin _hired_ someone to _rape_ her! The world couldn't expect her to forgive and forget that easily!

"Have you figured it out yet?" Sakura asked, grinning evilly. Karin ignored her. "I hope you don't feel bad when he kicks you out of the team for this little stunt. It would be just like him," she lied. In truth, the thing that would be just like him would be to not give it a second thought and ignore her for the rest of the day. "Put on some clothes, I'm going to vomit."

"Mesu!" Karin finally shouted, turning to face Sakura. Thank Kami that she was covered with the silken sheets. "At least I have the guts and freedom to do this! You just follow him around like a sick little puppy! You would never be able to pull this off!" Her red eyes were flaming with anger. She was cracking under the weight of Sakura's anger.

Sakura brushed off an invisible piece of lint from her shorts. She lifted the sheets of one of the other two beds as she got into it. "You wish he wanted you around as much as he wants me as a prisoner," she shot back, yawning. The sheets were warm and the water from the shower had frozen her to the bone. Sasuke was taking up all the warm water in the other bathroom. Sakura had been left with only ice-cold water. She was glad for the warmth of the blankets. Maybe it was the coldness of the water that had her picking a fight with Karin, or maybe it was Karin herself. Any hope of being friends with her had gone down the drain.

Karin gave a wordless shout at her own irritation. She knew that Sakura was just trying to pick a fight. What happened to her being nice and insufferable? Now she was rude and still insufferable. Kami, she hated her. "You're annoying!"

The rosette angrily snatched the shabby warm blanket up around herself. Sasuke called her annoying, and that was what drove her to become a medic ninja—to prove that she wasn't annoying, that she was strong. "You—" Sakura shouted, and then stopped. She was about to call Karin a string of fancy profanities, not all of them in Japanese. Efrain had shown her some pretty deep Spanish curses. But she stopped, knowing from past experience with people like Karin that swearing would only egg her on until someone broke her face. Instead, Sakura smiled, curling the warm blanket around her and snuggling closer to it, willing the water that chilled her to evaporate. "—Will die alone, you bitter, bitter virgin."

Karin sat in the bed, speechless.

* * *

Kiba jumped down from Akamaru's back, desperately starting to run through the mass of caved-in wood. From this angle, the wreckage looked like a canyon that someone had littered into. "Shikamaru!" the tracker shouted, his voice cracking. "Shikamaru! Shika-_kuso_-maru!"

Naruto and Kakashi reached him. Naruto silently started to help with the search. He knew that if it were he under all the rubble and debris, he'd want someone to find his body, even if it was dead. Kakashi, however, pulled on the brunette's ears with enough force to yank it off. "What are you thinking, you idiot! You were taught in the Academy that people die in this field of work—your friends might die, you might die!" Kakashi shouted. "We'll come find the body after we more clues."

Kiba sighed. "_After,_" he growled. "What if we _don't_ find clues, _after_? What if maggots are already devouring him _now_? What if he's still alive, needing help, and you won't let us give it to him? If you want to answer to Shikaku or Yoshino or Sakura or Ino or Temari, be my guest, but I'm going to try to at least find him!"

Naruto upturned a piece of wood three times larger than he was and called Shikamaru's name into the cavern that was revealed under it. Then he turned to the team leader and said, "Kiba's got a point. How would you feel if it were you instead of Shika?"

Kakashi growled. He'd been overruled. He scratched at the leather of his palm gloves and sighed. "Keep looking," he said, and then shouted Shikamaru's name.

* * *

Sasuke looked at the beds. Sakura was in one of the smaller ones, sleeping, while Karin was still in the larger one, smiling—at least he thought; it was hard to tell. Her lips were upturned but her eyes were furiously glaring at Sakura. Sasuke sighed, walking to Karin. Her red eyes brightened. "Get out. Snuff out all the candles. Wake Sakura up. Get dressed. Go to sleep," he ordered, watching with a secret pleasure as her smile slipped—served her right for ruining his retinas.

Karin objected, "She's sleeping! You can let go of the pretense." She stood up off the bed, crawling on her knees to its edge where Sasuke stood, glaring at her. When she got to Sasuke's shirtless body, she traced the muscles on it with her fingers. Sasuke swatted her away. "We can be really quite, right? Or do you want to hear me shout your name?" The redhead purred. It sounded like a mangled cat trying to sing. She couldn't even imitate a mindless animal correctly.

"Do as I said," Sasuke growled.

Karin pouted. "Sasuke-kun…," she moped, "I really, _really_ want to…"

His eyes glared red. Karin shrunk in on herself. "Wake up Sakura. Snuff the candles. Get dressed. Go to sleep," he repeated, gritting his teeth. His bloodred eyes were pricing through her soul. Karin felt…out of place. As if someone—_Sakura_—could handle his glare and match it, make Sasuke shrink into himself to get away from the glare. She wished she could do it, wished she could show him that she was just as good as the pink-haired freak show, but she couldn't. His eyes were too intimidating. Karin lifted the silk red sheets around herself, frowning.

"Yes, Sasuke-kun," she said, stumbling out of the bed and walking to Sakura's. She hit the pink-haired head peeking out of the sheet, knowing full well that a simple _get up_ would have woken her. Sasuke glared at Karin as Sakura jumped up, rubbing her head. Karin glared at her for a second, wondering what she had that she didn't, and turned away, disappearing into the bathroom that Sakura had used a while ago.

Sakura rubbed at her head even though it didn't hurt. Her brilliant green eyes, piercing through the darkness of the room, watched as Sasuke glared after Karin with glowing red ones. "What'd she _do_?" she asked innocently, wondering what could have made Sasuke waste even a second of charka on the Sharingan for Karin. He'd never done that on her…had he? She was ninety-nine point nine percent sure he had never done it to her, even as kids. Of course, she had to factor in the fact that she'd never sat half naked on his bed. If she was he, she was sure she'd be ripping the girl in half; but Sasuke never lost his temper on idiots.

Sasuke shook his head, realizing that he was wasting charka—charka that, when they left, could be traced and tracked. Who was to say that Konoha wasn't on his trail now, though he very much doubted it? After they found out that Sakura wasn't coming home tomorrow, they'd send a party. Suigetsu had told him they'd been spotted; that meant they'd be looking for him ten times as hard as they'd been doing so far. He had the precious cherry blossom of Konoha; they would go crazy looking for her. And when Sasuke appeared at the gates with her, Sakura's green eyes blazing with anger and resentment and thrusting for blood, they'd let him through, for fear of hurting their valued kunoichi. Sasuke grunted, "Hn…"

"Not back to the hn's again are we? I was just starting to think you were human," Sakura grinned. Sasuke smirked at her, a dark, halfhearted, not-as-happy-as-he-once-was smirk. Sakura didn't think he could ever be happy again if he kept rejecting all the family that came up from nowhere to greet him. For Kami's sake, Luisanna was an Uchiha, even if it wasn't by law or by blood. It was by default and it still counted; she was the mother of his nephew. If he refused to help his family—the same one, whether or not he liked it, he had killed his brother for—how could he be happy? He was obsessed with his parents, and, if she had ever known the love of a big family, she couldn't blame him. But it had been a year short of eight years—he had to think of what his family, the one that existed _now_, the ones that were living, wanted. "Why did she wake me?" Sakura asked, trying to open as much of a conversation as one could have with Sasuke.

"If you think I'm going to let you leave in the middle of the night, you are sadly mistaken," Sasuke growled, glancing from the bed in which Sakura rested to the larger, now barren bed at his feet.

Sakura nodded and crawled from the bed she slept on to the floor. The carpet was dingy and stinky, but she would take a bath in the morning, so it didn't matter. She walked over to the bed, stinking with too-sweet coyness. Her nose stung with it, and she noticed that there was a burning candle right next to her. Pulling on an expression of utter disgust, Sakura cupped the flame in her hands and suffocated it. The stink went away after awhile from that candle. "Sasuke," Sakura said, lifting herself onto the bed. Her long legs tangled with the ratty blankets in seconds. "We need to talk about Anna really quick."

"_We_ need no such thing," Sasuke growled, sitting himself on the bed. "Why aren't you in the clothes?"

"I didn't want to get them dirty overnight. Thanks for them, by the way," Sakura smiled in the darkness. The flame of the three remaining candles made her pale skin glow orange. Sasuke glared at her eyes, which were glowing with a ginger shine. "Sasuke, maybe we don't _need _to, but we should." She adjusted herself to better face him; she pleadingly watched his black eyes. "I have nothing to do with the Uchiha family except maybe that you're still my friend whether you like it or not, but I do know what's best for people, as a doctor. Luisanna is suffering from as much depression as Fugaku. She isn't showing it yet, but I know. Do you remember how Itachi looked at you? I mean, when I first saw you two fight, I knew he was holding back, not because of the way he fought, but because of the look in his eye. Can you remember that look?" Sakura waited for Sasuke to answer; when he didn't, Sakura moved on, knowing him well enough to know that he was listening. "Look at Anna and Fugaku through his eyes, for a second. Can you see Itachi looking at Fugaku with the same eyes he looked at you, with the same love and care? Didn't you want to revive the Uchiha Clan? Fugaku is part of that new generation. Do you want him so depressed that he'll die before he even gets a chance to live? Kami, you might be sterile and Fugaku might be your only chance of a new Uchiha Clan now that Itachi's dead."

Sasuke's eyes widened in fear when the word _sterile_ escaped Sakura's mouth. He hid it by lowering his eyelids, but Sakura knew she had shocked him. Sakura nodded silently, though she did not stop her rant.

"And if that's true—may it not be—Fugaku is the youngest Uchiha, dearest Elder Uchiha," Sakura teased, forever trying to lighten the subject. She knew full well that it was a serious matter and she shouldn't be messing around with Sasuke's temper, but she just didn't like that glare darkening his face. "Since Fugaku is the youngest, he doesn't know how to use the Sharingan. How is he going to learn to control it without you? And you know as well as I do that you don't have the patience to raise a kid, plus Anna will not, by the life of her, hand over her kid. She's going to have to come with us back to the castle. And if you don't bring them, then I _will_ escape, find them, and bring them to their family. Mark my words, Sasuke."

Sasuke watched Sakura's green eyes, light dancing around them giving them the fiery passion that her voice holds tenfold. She wasn't kidding, he suddenly realized. No matter how many soldiers he stationed around her door, no matter if he forced her to move into his room so he could keep an eye on her, no matter if he kept her under lock and key for the rest of her life, she would find a way to get to them. Sasuke frowned. "You don't have the strength," he lied. "I'd stop you."

Sakura gave a choppy laugh, ignoring the water that turned off in the bathroom. She would continue this conversation even if there was a bystander. "Okay. Believe that. But I will," she said. "One day, maybe years from now when you've dropped your guard and Fugaku is twelve, you'll see Anna and him walking through the halls of the Sound Palace."

Sasuke knew she wasn't bluffing.

* * *

Robāto gripped his head, feeling the cold of his forehead on his palms. He would not break. He would not bend to the will of a strange dead man. He would not believe that his wife was never coming home. He would not.

His eyes hurt. His body was cold. He didn't feel well.

"Guards!" he growled at the empty dark sky, his voice hoarse. It was past midnight and everyone was asleep, he doubted any guard would come serve him some polluted water, but he needed to try. "Guards!"

He was right. No one came. He hadn't shouted loud enough and he couldn't muster the energy to shout again.

* * *

**Iesu—Jesus**  
**"You—will die alone" comes from _Idiot Syndrome_ by _asteriskjam_**

**Please forgive my late update. I had other stuff to do. I was hanging out with my cousin, Kianga, who's story you should read and review to and force her to continue. If I can't do it, I figure complete strangers can. Plus, I was on a reading kick, getting ideas from other stories…enjoying myself being a reviewer.**

**R&R!**


	25. Chapter 25

**The only Japanese will be names and cuss words (unless I can't find them). And they still will have the asterisks (*) and translations in at the bottom. If they're not here, they're in a previous chapter. Unimportant names—like store names that are irrelevant to the story and there for visual's sake—will be in English.**

**Yarō—**_**asshole**_

**Cherushī—**_**Chelsea**_

**Chikushō—**_**damnit**_

**Okotte—**_**pissed**_

**Kuso—**_**fucking**_

**Seikō—**_**fuck**_

**Orenji—**_**Orange**_

**Mazenta—**_**Magenta**_

**Jonasan—**_**Jonathan**_

**Mesu—**_**bitch**_

**Tawagato—**_**shit**_

**Shiri—**_**ass**_

**Kami—**_**god**_

**Jigoku—**_**hell**_

**Gomi****—**_**crap**_

**Rob****āto—**_**Robert**_

**Hebia****—**_**snake, with an A to make it a name, pronounced he-buy-ah**_

**Senshi—**_**warrior **_

**Tāru—**_**turl**_

**Burūsu—**_**Bruce**_

**Te—**_**manus (another word for "fang," which is what Kiba's name means)**_

**Kami—**_**God**_

**Akuma—**_**Devil**_

**Nee-sama—**_**short for Onee-sama, or sister**_

**Onigiri—second to tomatoes, one of Sasuke's favorite foods. It means, "rice ball."**

**DenkiMachi—**_**the two Japanese words "denki" and "machi;" denki meaning electric and machi meaning town**_

**Warui—**_**badass**_

**Baka—**_**idiot (if you don't know that, I suggest you relearn Naruto)**_

**Imawashii—**_**damn(ed)**_

**Kongō Tanoshii—**_**Mixed (Kongō) Fun (Tannoshii)**_

**Cha Ha—**_**Tea (cha) Leaves (ha)**_

**Luisanna—**_**My godbro's name is Luis, and we were singing something (When I Grow Up, by the Pussy Cat Dolls) and he sang the lyrics wrong. Instead of "groupies" he said "boobies" so I started making fun of him. I started calling him Luisanna, because he wanted to have boobies and is a guy, and thus the name. He's my bestest friend. I thought I'd honor his living awesomeness with this one thing.**_

**Kudaranai—**_**shitty**_

**_READ THIS:_**

**http : / / www . fanfiction . net / s / 6677059 / 1 / How _ To _ Fail _ a_ Kidnapping**

* * *

Suigetsu groaned, rubbing at his head. What in jigoku happened yesterday? Why did the sun hurt his eyes like it did? Did anybody remember his name! He sure didn't. Why was there a mass of blonde hair resting on his shoulders? Where _was_ he? The sun wasn't fully up yet, Suigetsu assessed though it hurt his eyes to do so, so it meant that it wasn't even seven in the morning yet. Where did he leave Jūgo? _Had_ he been with Jūgo before this? Kami, he didn't remember. He had such a hangover. Why was one of his hands still resting on the mass of blonde's shoulder?

At the sound of his yawn, the girl woke up. She jumped up and looked around, and then her purple eyes rested on her confused customer. She could easily tell that this one had a hangover. "So," she sighed, walking over to her clothes in her nude glory, "that'll be the agreed price. Three hundred ryō."

Awh, gomi. He'd meant to leave before she woke up. Hadn't he? Yeah, he still had the sense to not waste the few hundred ryō Sasuke—that was his boss's name, right?—had given him. Scanning the room—this was a motel room, he judged, not the same one where the boss-man was staying, but near it, and less respectable than that motel—Suigetsu looked for exits. There was the oh-so obvious door, which the woman was blocking, and the windows, which, as common sense told him, were painted shut. He could always break through the windows, but that would involve paying for the glass later. They _were_ staying here for a while; the person running this place would eventually find him. Plus, when they left, it would give enemy ninja something to follow. Kami, Suigetsu had never loved being a ninja so much before in his life! If it weren't for his trained mind, he was sure he'd still be wondering what his name was. It was Suigetsu, right? Never mind that! He had to escape before paying her.

"Um…," Suigetsu drawled out, "you see…"

"You weren't planning to pay? Poor thing. Hand over the cash."

"Eh…sweetheart—" Suigetsu started, only to be interrupted by an irritated growl.

"Don't call me that. I was your 'sweetheart' last night. You don't pay, you don't get nicknames; you'll pay me, I'll make sure of it."

"Listen, girl," Suigetsu tried again, watching as the woman slipped into her shirt, "I don't remember where my wallet is in the room." He wasn't planning to pay, but plans change. This girl reminded him a lot of Karin, with her snippy attitude. He liked her. "So."

"Here it is!" she shouted, looking at a snakeskin wallet resting on her pants. She picked it up and opened it. Inside it, an ID lay. Orenji Jonasan. "Isn't your name Suigetsu?"

"Is it? I don't remember."

The girl rolled her purple eyes. "Did you dye your hair in that picture?" she asked rhetorically. "You look kind of funny." Suigetsu opened his mouth to say something, but the girl shrugged. "None of my business. Anyway, I'll just take my money and go." Her fingers thumbed through the green bills inside the wallet.

Suigetsu laughed as he stood from the bed, walking over to her and snatching away the wallet. "I don't think so. If I let you pay yourself, you'd steal my money! You remind me of a friend of mine, and she'd do that, so I have no doubt you'd do the same." He thumbed through the bills taking out a two hundred and a one hundred. "Here. Enjoy your dirty money," he said good-naturedly, handing over the two bills. The girl slipped on her pants and frowned at him. Suigetsu smirked, knowing that she had gotten a lot less than she expected. He had no doubt that with her other customers she got to pay herself. He was on an allowance, for Kami's sake, he had to be careful with it! He found his pants and slipped his wallet into them, then pulled them on. "Give me a second to get dressed before you open that door."

The girl scowled as Suigetsu pulled on his purple shirt. The shirt was dingy and there was a lighter line of purple running through its middle. She thought that there was a belt or something he usually wore but didn't today. The lighter line was clean, whereas the rest was dark and dirty. When he pulled that on and buttoned his pants, she ran out the door.

"Well," Suigetsu said, running his hands through his hair and walking out, "that was rude."

He went to the lobby, paid the room—which, not surprisingly, cost less then the girl—and walked out. The sun beat down on his eyes, torturing him as Sasuke would if he had done something wrong. He was just a street off from the motel.

He was walking back to the team when he found Jūgo, face up in the middle of the road, _sleeping_! Suigetsu laughed and walked to his teammate. He knew that the giant would have a worse hangover than he had; it took a lot—_a lot_—to knock Jūgo out. Suigetsu sat next to his friend and slapped him. That's what it usually took to wake him, and usually a lot of them. If he had let the giant out by himself, he was sure that only a wheel to the face would have woken him. The man didn't move, so Suigetsu slapped him again, harder. This time, the orange-haired man woke, his tangerine eyes unfocused and confused.

"What?" Jūgo shouted, eyes wide and ears aching at the sound of his own voice. "What happened? Where's my penguin?"

Suigetsu had to laugh. He just had to. "_Penguin_? Dude, we're in the Lightening Country not the North Pole," he said. Half of Jūgo's face was caked in dirt; Suigetsu was surprised it wasn't mud, because Jūgo was a sweaty sleeper. "C'mon. Get up. Sasuke's waiting."

"Sasuke-san?" Jūgo said the name as if he didn't know who that was. Suigetsu laughed and Jūgo plugged his ears at the sound. The aqua-headed teen helped his friend up and together they started to walk to the motel.

* * *

Sakura pulled on the leather jacket, zipped it up halfway, and buttoned the last two silver buttons. She looked herself in the small mirror of the bathroom. The sun left a bright glare on the leather and the spandex. The mesh-shirt underneath it, peeking out from on top of the zipper, was tight, like a second skin, but comfortable. Some of the mesh was visible, but most of what was showing was the spandex bra to which the mesh attached. Underneath the shirt, though it wasn't visible, Sakura had bound her breasts. Her pink hair, brighter now because of the wash and because of the complementing clothes, was falling into her eyes. Sakura smiled, brushing through it with her fingers, leaving it smooth, before looking at the burgundy ribbon that rested on the bathroom sink's counter. Sasuke was sleeping so she got dibs on the bigger bathroom; this one had a bathroom counter instead of just tap and a bowl. She made sure her hair was dry before gingerly picking up the thick silk ribbon. She wrapped it around her head, tied it on her forehead tightly, and turned it so that her hair covered the knot. She appraised herself in the mirror. Her pink hair was artfully curling; she had to admit it was adorable, but it was a pain in the shiri to brush. It floated behind the headband and left her eyes alone. Her bangs, however, stayed in front of the headband and steered clear of her face. Sakura smiled and rubbed her eyes, which were no longer itching with the irritation of her hair.

She slipped on her brown shin-guarding sandals, which matched amazingly with the rust-red leather, and walked out of the bathroom. The sun was just starting to rise over the horizon, even though it was giving off a lot of light; there was still the dark undertone of night in those bright rays. The water rushing in the other bathroom let Sakura know that Karin was showering. Sakura walked to the kitchen. She was hungry. The refrigerator, she noticed, had a lock on it. She had a feeling that if she went to the lobby to ask for keys, they'd make her pay. She may have had piles of money in her bag, but that didn't mean she was going to _pay_ for eating when she—or, rather, Sasuke—had paid for the room. Over her dead body. Sakura took the gold-colored Master Lock in her hands and took out a bobby pin from the leather jacket. The clerk must have left it accidentally. Still, she didn't question it and picked the lock.

A fog of cold air engulfed her for a second before Sakura waved it away and looked into the brightly lit refrigerator. Milk, cheese, fruits, ham, baloney, a bar of Cortes chocolate, and drinking water were the only things in it. Resting above the fridge, Sakura spotted some bread. Curse her short height. Sakura scowled, realizing she couldn't get to it without help from Sasuke or Karin and Sasuke was asleep—Kami help Karin should she wake him, Sakura thought, and that's coming from someone who hated her—and Karin…well, she'd rather ask Akuma himself before requesting Karin's help. The rosette sighed and dragged out the fruit, water, and Cortes. She went to look for a pot to make the chocolate, checking their expiration dates before suckling on the strawberry she got from the box.

Finding a pan, she rested it on the stove, lit the stove, poured water into it, put a part of the Cortes bar into it, and waited. She searched the cabinets for sugar—Cortes chocolate was _bitter_ without sugar—and took it out. That was when the door burst open, exposing the two hung-over men behind it. Sakura smiled—she was wondering when those two would show up—and lowered the flame on the melting chocolate bar.

Suigetsu smiled a wolfish smile. He gave a wolf whistle. "You look good!" he laughed. "Is Sasuke-sama taking you out someplace?"

Sakura laughed, her eyes lighting up with it. "Yeah, right! Sasuke's sleeping; after he wakes up I'm forcing him to visit Luisanna."

"Who?" Suigetsu asked, sounding a bit like an owl. Sakura smiled at the resemblance.

"A family member of his."

"I thought they were all dead?" the Hōzuki announced, his voice more of a question. His thin bluish-silver eyebrows were knitting together in inquiry.

Sakura smirked. "Itachi got around to it."

Suigetsu gave another wolf whistle, and behind him, Jūgo smirked. Then Jūgo shrugged off the smirk, sniffed and asked, "What smells so good?" They both walked in sitting in the chairs of the small table that the room provided.

"Cortes," Sakura said, as if that was the answer to all. "You guys want some?" She glanced at the stove in the small kitchen and rested the box of fruits in front of them. "Tsunade-senpai told me that warmth is always the answer to hangovers. That, and not to drink in the first place. Of course, being a ninja helps."

Eagerly, Jūgo nodded. Suigetsu leaned back in his chair, lifted his feet onto the table, grabbed a blackberry, and laughed as Sakura went back to stir the water and chocolate, which had now melted well. "So you're telling me that Itachi, Sasuke's brother, had a kid and named it Luisanna? Sounds like a silly name to me. What is it, Spanish?"

Sakura turned off the stove and pulled out five mugs. She served three of them and added sugar, then gave the boys theirs and leaned against the ugly counter to drink hers. "First of all, Sui, get your feet off of the table! People eat there." Sakura smiled, appeased, when the Hōzuki did as told. "Secondly, no, he did not name his child Luisanna, though it is a Puerto Rican name. Luisanna is the name of his child's _mother_; the baby is named Fugaku. And I won't say anymore because its Sasuke's family, he'll tell you if he wants to."

Jūgo grinned as he took another sip of the Cortes chocolate. "That's good," he said when he finished the mug and grabbed a handful of grapes. The plastic basket of fruit was full to the brim and fresh. "If you found Sasuke-sama's nephew and sister, shouldn't they come to Sound with us?" he asked, joining the conversation.

"That's what I'm telling him. I even told him he might be sterile to convince him," Sakura told them, taking a sip of her drink. Suigetsu burst out laughing.

"You told—" Suigetsu laughed, trying to get the words out. "You—you told _Sasuke_—that…that he might be—be _sterile_? Oh, Kami—Kami please hel…help Sakura-chan! Saku—Sakura-ch—chan, if I—I don't see you…tomorrow, I—I'll know why! Oh, Kami, he's going to _kill _you!"

Sakura walked over to him, cup in hand, and slapped the back of his head, only for it to turn to water upon impact. She scowled at him. "If you hadn't done that, you'd be in next week right now!" Sakura glared when Suigetsu reformed. Suigetsu gave a smug smirk. "Don't expect me to save you when Karin comes after you. She's pissed off right now." At that moment, the tap water of the smaller bathroom turned off. Sakura walked back to the counter.

"Why is it this time?" Suigetsu asked.

"She tried to seduce Sasuke with sweet-smelling candles and hiring someone to rape me. Needless to say, it didn't work out well. Useless to say that the teeth on the sidewalk were my cause." Sakura smiled ruthlessly. It was with this smile, full of bloodlust and anger, Suigetsu and Jūgo decided to stay away from the girl's bad side. Suigetsu had felt the fury of her fist, and that was when she was surprised, not angry. His jaw still hurt, though it was a lot easier to talk now.

"Yowza," Jūgo said.

"Yeah. And Jūgo, I'm not washing dishes. That goes for you, too, Sui."

Suigetsu wasn't listening. He was watching the door of the bathroom, and when Karin came out, fully dressed thank Kami, he shouted, "There she blows!" The redhead glared at him, walked over, and hit his head. "Not again, chikushō!" he shouted when he rehabilitated. Karin jerked her head as if to say, _What're you going to do about it?_ and pursed her lips.

"Why are you so late?" the redhead ordered.

Suigetsu smirked. This time, it would be the truth, and she'd still think he was lying. Well, if she was going to think he was lying, he might as well make it good. "Slept across town with a sexy blonde. Something about a threesome that I can't remember. And I _think _I was neutered—I'm not sure. Nothing new."

Karin scowled, rolling her eyes, and turned to Jūgo, watching him for an answer. "I got drunk. Fell asleep on the road." Karin nodded at Jūgo's explanation and walked into the bedroom area.

"Don't wake—!" Sakura started to warn. Waking Sasuke was a fate worse than death. She wasn't surprised he was sleeping in; after all, he just met part of a family he thought was wiped out. "Gomi," she sighed, hearing as Sasuke's breathing changed. There was a crash and a whimper. "Hey, I tried!" she said when Suigetsu and Jūgo watched her with accusing eyes. "Fine, fine! I'll go check on her."

Suigetsu laughed as he walked to the room with Sakura. Karin looked like a cat with its tails between her legs. She was thrown haphazardly on one of the beds and she was frowning, checking her leg, which was turning purple. Sakura thought, looking over the room to the broken lamp, that Sasuke had thrown her across the room, accidentally breaking a lamp, and Karin had limped over to the bed. Sakura rested her hand on the girl's leg, letting it glow green. Karin slapped Sakura's hand away. "I can fix it myself!" she objected. Sakura lifted her hands over her head in a surrendering motion and went back to the kitchen. Suigetsu gave one last laugh before following.

"That was a little harsh, even for Sasuke," Jūgo said as his teammates entered the room.

Sakura shrugged. "He's not a morning person. Plus, he's okotte with her." Suigetsu agreed and sat in his chair, chewing on a fruit between laughs.

* * *

Robāto drunk his unhygienic water with pleasure that morning. His throat was dry and his lips were cracking. After he drank it, though, he spit out his saliva, which was layered with the taste of the water, into the sink. The guard who served it to him was masked this time, unlike the times before. The redhead disregarded it, just like he disregarded the molding bread.

"Let me out," the Haruno ordered. He feared that if he stayed in the cell for a second longer, the voice of Orochimaru would echo in his mind and drive him mad. "Let me out now." He sounded like a bratty kid on punishment.

The guard gave him a choppy laugh and said, "You don't get out until later to day, to go to court."

Court. _Witnesses. Death. _That couldn't happen if his daughter wasn't around. And she hadn't come visit in the past two days he'd been in prison. _Don't threaten my niece._ Seiko that idiot. "Listen," Robāto growled, "where is my daughter? I must speak to her."

"You should have done that before laying a finger on her. Child abuse, threaten of a ninja—it's a heavy list, so watch yourself."

_Watch yourself…_ He knew the voice of the guard. It was the same idiot that told him to "watch himself around him." Robāto grabbed the collar of the uniformed cop. "Imposter!" he whispered, shaking the man by his collar. The man punched Robāto through the bars and picked himself up, removing his facemask. It was the same man.

"Don't touch me, you baka," he said, watching as one of Robāto's blue eyes swelled and turned purple with narrowing eyes. "I'm an undercover cop, and what you just did will get you locked up in here, at my mercy, even longer. Straiten up, the Hokage is coming to visit you. Be respectful."

* * *

Tsunade cracked her knuckles and walked with the captain to the cell of Konoha's Most Hated. "Please, Hokage-sama, forgive me if the prisoner is rude to you. He's—"

The blonde waved it off, finishing the sentence, "Rude to everyone. I know. Has he been eating?" The captain shrugged his shoulders. "Make sure he does. Sakura won't be happy if he's skin and— What the jigoku happened here?" She saw the guard talking to a fallen Robāto, his eyes narrowing. The man jumped at the sound of her voice bringing him to a standstill. He recovered himself quickly and stood strait, saluting. "At ease. Tell me, boy, what did this idiot do to make you give him that purple eye?"

"I—he—well—it—"

Tsunade laughed. "I approve, dummy."

The guard let out a deep breath and said strongly, "He was asking for Sakura-sama. I told him that after he what he did, he'll be seeing her anon today. He kept insisting and got violent grabbing my shirt. I punched him."

The Godaime Hokage laughed and, as she got closer to the cell, scowled at Robāto, who was standing up. "Shows him right. Robāto," she started, "I'd like to be able to knock you into next week, but as Hokage, I 'must have more restraint.' You're finally asking for your daughter are you?" Tsunade glared at Robāto with angry hazel eyes; Robāto met her glare with one of his own. "You'll see her soon enough. When she gets home, she's to report to me and you are to be washed for trial. Try not to get raped—there's a history of that here in an all-boy prison." With that, she spit on the floor at Robāto's feet and walked away. She hadn't let the redhead get one word in.

* * *

Sasuke ran his fingers through his hair and walked into the kitchen, where most of his team resided. Sakura had a mug in her hand, Suigetsu was making her laugh much to Sasuke's chagrin, and Jūgo was indulging himself with fruits. Sakura turned her pink head on Sasuke and smiled. "You want some Cortes? I didn't put any sugar in your cup in case you wanted any. It's bitter without it," she offered, and took a sip from her own cup, looking up at them with a chocolate mustache. Jūgo laughed at the sight. "You can't resist Cortes, Sasuke."

She was right. He didn't normally eat chocolate—the sweetness was off-putting—but Cortes was a different story. "Karin needs—" he started to deadpan, only to be stopped by Sakura's interruption.

"I know and I tried. She wouldn't let me," Sakura said. Her pink lips pursed and she pushed back her headband, which, Sasuke noticed, was the one he had bought her. Her whole outfit was the new one, with her old sandals. It made her look older, more like she belonged with Team Taka, as if she was a missing ninja to be dressing like that, with leather. "What did she _do_? You usually don't sprain someone's leg unless they did something really bad—like kiss you or something—you didn't use to anyway."

Sasuke ignored her and grabbed his mug to serve himself. He took a sip of the bitter chocolate and watched as Sakura's sage-colored eyes widened. She put the mug on the counter behind her and gasped.

"She did that?" Sakura asked, shocked. "Can I get a crack at her? Can I _break_ her? Can I _destroy_ her?"

Sasuke glared at her childish antics. It was good to have her back, to know that her childishness hadn't changed at all over the past four years. Honestly, he would like—_love_—to see sense beaten into Karin. But it wasn't ethical. Knowing Sakura, she would break Karin to the point of no return, trash the motel, and leave her charka signature everywhere to be tracked. Team Taka needed a charka tracker. "No," he deadpanned. "Go heal her."

"I told you I tried. Let her do it herself, like she said she could. We need to talk to Luisanna and visit Itachi's gravestone," Sakura refused. When Sasuke sent her a questioning look, Sakura sent her own _don't give me that_ look. She wiped her milk mustache off and said, "Don't look at me like that; I know you want to visit Itachi. Anna _wants_ you to visit him, I know it, and Fugaku likes you and he likes me. And if you aren't going," Sakura said, reaching over Sasuke's waist to put the mug in the sink, "I am."

"Who do you think you are?" Sasuke quizzed, amusement sneaking into his voice. He kind of liked the authority she thought she had.

Sakura smiled, her mood bright. She was happy. The Sasuke she knew was coming back little by little. She got closer to Sasuke; so close that only a thin magazine could fit in it. Jūgo and Suigetsu tried to keep in their smirks as Sasuke got more and more uncomfortable. "I think I'm part of Team Taka; I think that you are a bit paranoid about me albeit I became part of this team on my own will; I think that if Suigetsu, and Jūgo, and Karin get to do their own thing while you work with your family, I should be able to too; I think your head is swollen with a lot of hot air; but most of all, I think you need more human emotion." Sakura grinned at the beads of sweat beginning to grow on his hairline and stood on her tiptoes. Her lips touched the soft skin of Sasuke's cheek; Sasuke blushed a light red, barely visible to the naked eye. "I also think that you are _adorable_ when you blush."

* * *

**I put in another recap; I planned to do it every ten chapters but I got sidetracked.**

**And, ZOMG! BLUSHING SASUKE! That is the cutest mental picture I've ever had! Anybody know what the Z stands for in front of OMG? _pirateKitten11893_got me started on it. DAMN YOU REVIEWER! Not really—keep with me Kitten11893, long time reviewer. And _KillerMay_, and _Akatsuki Sakura Uchiha_, and _hypnotic flames_, and _LoneWolfMaokami_, and _Twixflix4fun_ (awesome name by the way, Twix are my favorite), and _mistressinwaiting_, and _Thegirlwhowatchestars_, and _Kima Shena_, and all those who reviewed but I'm to lazy to go back through pages 5-9 to put your name in here. Forgive me. Don't say "If you're too lazy to put my name in here, I'm to lazy to review," because that would hurt. A lot. It's 9 pages, people!**

**R&R!**


	26. Chapter 26

**The only Japanese will be names and cuss words (unless I can't find them). And they still will have the asterisks (*) and translations in at the bottom. If they're not here, they're in a previous chapter. Unimportant names—like store names that are irrelevant to the story and there for visual's sake—will be in English.**

**_IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE:_ I lost my glasses! Well, I had broken them, so yeah… I couldn't see the computer to write this, so please forgive me for not updating sooner; I just got them back, fixed, thank Kami. Thanks for the patience and for not begging me to hurry up and telling me that "there's nothing worse than an author who doesn't finish her stories" like the reviewer do in my story _Love's in the air, that's what smells so bad_. I'm glad that they like it enough to want me to finish it, but it makes me feel bad about my writer's block. :( I don't like that. It makes me sad. (For those of you who've read it, I'm trying to end it in a lemon, but I suck at those, so I'm practicing.) I love you all! And, as a side-note, _ITACHI-KUN IS MINE! MUHAHAHAHA! (Rico-laugh!) On to Kidnapping, Chapter 26! Also, it's been 5 days since Sakura was taken, just in case you can't keep up; took me awhile too._**

**_READ THIS:_**

**http : / / www . fanfiction . net / s / 6677059 / 1 / How _ To _ Fail _ a_ Kidnapping**

* * *

Karin poked her limp leg. It jumped under her fingertips; she was sure she had sprained it. Tomorrow, there would be a bruise the size of China on her leg three skins deep. She tried standing up, only to fall back onto the bed. It wasn't that it _hurt_ to put pressure on the leg; it was just that her leg couldn't _support_ her. Karin sighed and started to massage it with her moist white fingers.

It wasn't that Sasuke didn't want the kiss, she tried to convince herself as she massaged feeling back into her right leg, it was just that she had caught him by surprise. Some surprise it was, too, waking him with a kiss. Like the male Snow White, or Sleeping Beauty. She glued that thought to her mind—it was an accident, an accident, an accident; he hadn't meant to send her flying across the room. It was an accident. The fact that he hadn't apologized was nothing to sweat over; saying sorry just wasn't his thing. Karin was sure that when she could teach herself to walk without stumbling down and made it to the kitchen, Sasuke would smirk and nod her over to his side. He had to. And if he had to, she had to heal herself. Without the help of that pink-haired vixen; Karin didn't need her. She could do it herself.

She just didn't know any healing ninjutsu to use on herself…or did she? If the Heal Bite worked on Sasuke and all the others Orochimaru-domo* had her heal, it could heal her, right? But did she need it that badly—badly enough to deplete her charka and fall faint because of it? But if she fell, Sasuke-kun would catch her. And he would kiss her when she woke. And he would put "Sakura-chan" in the dungeons where she belonged. It would all go well, right? It had to. Sasuke had to realize that _she_ was his one true love, and if he saw her faint—_if_ she fainted—he would realize it sooner; the odds were that maybe he had already realized it. Yes, she would fix herself up for him.

After biting herself, she felt tired, but her leg felt newer than before she had bruised. Karin smiled to herself. She didn't need the help of any prisoner medic. Stretching, Karin smiled at walked to the kitchen. Her smile fell off when she saw what the pink-headed man-stealer was doing. She was closing in on Sasuke-kun! Could you believe it! And he was making no move to stop it! Hadn't he realized that _Karin_, not _Sakura_, was his one true love? "I think you need more human emotion," Sakura was saying. She was insulting him too—and Sasuke still made no move to stop her! She was standing on her tiptoes now. Her lips pecked Sasuke's tan cheek. Fire bubbled inside Karin's chest. The greedy mesu! She couldn't just take Karin's best friend—no, no, that was too little—she had to take _Sasuke_, too! When the rosette pulled away, a red tint was dying his cheekbones. He hadn't blushed when Karin kissed him, and she had kissed his lips—his nice, soft, surprisingly dry, lips. Sakura was smiling! "I also think that you are _adorable_ when you blush."

Karin felt faint, but not faint enough to not shout her head off. She knew that she would eventually fall unconscious because of her shouting, but she didn't give a rat's shiri. "_What_ are you doing to Sasuke-kun?" she shouted, outraged. She was sure her head, woozy as it was, was about to explode. When Sakura didn't move her hands from either side of Sasuke on the counter, Karin barked, "Get _off_ him!" She started stomping over to Sakura.

Smiling defiantly, Sakura did as ordered and moved her hands away from Sasuke. "Alpha mesu is angry now, isn't she?" Sakura teased in that sickeningly innocent voice that had everyone fooled—everyone but Karin, Karin knew Sakura under her nauseating sweetness. Oh, that rosette could kiss babies' foreheads, hug idiots, help people, and pretend to be as sweet as she wanted—Karin knew the truth. Sakura had no respect. Yes, no respect. Never mind if Karin had claim on Sasuke's heart—Sakura wanted him! Never mind if Suigetsu was Karin's best friend—Sakura's so _charming_! Never mind if Karin was hurting—Sakura was walking in the room! Never mind if Karin was half-naked on Sasuke's bed—Sakura was about to be raped! Never mind if Karin was throwing at herself at Sasuke—Sakura was playing with Suigetsu in the pool! Never mind if Karin kissed Sasuke on the lips—Sakura had kissed him on the cheek! Never mind if Karin had come up with a sharp comeback—Sakura was crying! Never mind Karin—Sakura's over there! Kami curse it, _Karin_ was here _before_ Sakura; _she_ was the alpha female, not Sakura!

Karin had to hold down her arm to keep from punching Sakura, though she badly wanted to. She wanted to have the element of surprise. Right now, it was expected. "_What_ were you doing to Sasuke?" Karin shouted again. She could feel rage flush in her cheeks. She could also hear Suigetsu snickering and Jūgo's worried questions, and even Sasuke's embarrassed indifference.

"I don't know…giving him a kiss on the cheek, maybe…?" Sakura said, ending her sentence with a childlike question, as if not fully understanding the question asked of her. When Karin's glare intensified, Sakura lost her childish confusion and commented sharply, "And he's letting me, which is more than I can say for you this good morning."

Karin lost it. Her fist cut through the air with whizzing unevenness, only to land on the cheep counter behind Sakura, inches away from the muscle of Sasuke's arm. Karin, frightened, murmured her apologies to him and turned on Sakura who was sitting on the ledge to Sasuke's other side. How did she get there so fast? The only people who could move that fast were Sasuke and possibly that blonde goof, whose name she could not currently remember, that carried the Nine-Tailed Fox inside him.

"Miss me, miss me, now you got to kiss me!" the rosette taunted, sticking her small reddish-pink tongue out at her attacker. She was planning to take revenge for the attempted attack soon enough, but this was too much fun. Her green eyes glanced at Sasuke in her sidelong vision; he was looking at her with a gleam in his eye, as if he was amused. Sakura took a second to give him an approving smile.

Karin got out of Sasuke's way to stand before Sakura, and sent her fist flying again. Sakura caught it without flinching. The rosette was sure that if this had been her father, she wouldn't have caught it, not because she couldn't, but because it would anger him farther. Grinning a terrifyingly menacing smile, Sakura twisted the fist in her hand; she could feel the skin beneath her own burn with friction, but Sakura couldn't—she was used to it, friction. Karin bit her lip to keep from squeaking out in pain. She wouldn't give into the rosette's plan. Sakura kept twisting until Karin had to turn around in order to avoid breaking her arm. Sakura's twisted smile grew as she pulled the arm back, forcing Karin to arch her back in pain. "Hurts, doesn't it?" Sakura asked, her voice telling everyone that she was enjoying Karin's hurt. Piercingly, she yanked the arm back, not hard enough to pull it out of its socket, but hard. "Don't try to pick a fight with me, because one of us _will_ get hurt, and I can promise you it _won't_ be me," Sakura warned, letting Karin's arm go a second later. Sakura's returned to her happy-go-lucky attitude she had before Karin had shouted. "You should go take a nap," she said, "you're missing a jigoku of a lot of charka. No wonder you're so slow."

Karin glared at her. "You—" Karin could come up with a thousand different Japanese profanities to throw at Sakura, but the hateful, bone-chilling glower Sasuke was sending at her froze her jaw. Shaking in her shoes, Karin muttered in defeat, still trying to gain Sasuke's approval, "—are probably right." Frowning, she walked back to the room, deciding to replace this horrible defeat with a wonderful dream. A nap wouldn't kill her; it would help her.

Sakura smiled at her triumph.

"Epic win," Suigetsu laughed. Sakura bowed her head in acknowledgement. "I've never seen her back down like that—she usually just swings at me."

"I was trained by the infamous Lady Tsunade and the famed Kakashi-sensei, right alongside the wonderful Uchiha Sasuke and the repulsive Uzumaki Naruto. I'm bound to have some tricks up my sleeve," Sakura grinned.

Suigetsu froze at the mention of Naruto. He remembered his vow a few days ago—to bring Sakura back to him. He hadn't even started with the plan. Feeling guilty, Suigetsu promised himself that he would. Tonight, when Karin, Sasuke, and Sakura were asleep. He'd start to plan with Jūgo. No one noticed his momentary pause. Suigetsu recovered himself with a fake laugh, saying, "True, true."

Jūgo sat in the chair, watching Sakura curiously. At that moment, with Sakura's mile-wide smile, that Jūgo knew he had made the right choice by choosing to not get on her bad side. If he got on her bad side, she would get on his, and he would start a fight if the curse overpowered him, and she would fight back. He didn't want that. She was too nice to get hurt. That, and Jūgo also thought that if Sakura got hurt, Sasuke would throw a fit. The thought of his boss throwing a temper tantrum brought a thin smile to his otherwise emotionless expression.

Sasuke shoved off the counter, his black eyes burning with obvious disapproval. He watched Sakura with both disparagement and pride. This was the little girl he had belittled enough to make her believe it—the same one who had practically made Karin eat her words, who escaped unscathed from one of Karin's moods. But this was also the same one who had the gull to run away from him, flirt with Suigetsu, order him around, and _then_ threaten to beat up one of his teammates. Still, this was _Sasuke_; he knew how to control his facial expressions enough so that the disapproval outweighed the pride. Sakura held his glare with nothing but innocence. She was good at that—more than that, she was _skilled_ with it.

"May I help you, Sasuke dearest?" Sakura laughed, smiling brilliantly. Her impertinence was overruled by her teasing smile. It was the only thing that saved her from meeting the back of his hand. Or, at least, Sasuke wanted to believe. Deep inside, under years and years of rocky overcoat and emotionless barrier, he knew he would never hit her unless she was fighting him. It was the years of familiarity that forced him to keep his hands by his side. He ignored the part of him that knew that.

Sasuke glared at her for a second more and shook his head. "Luisanna's waiting," were the two words that came out of his mouth. Sakura smiled her happy smile, gave Suigetsu a quick one-armed hug, and waved a shy wave to Jūgo. Sasuke nodded for Sakura to go on and turned to Suigetsu. His following words held anger, hate, protectiveness, care, and what some would call _jealousy_: "Stay away from her."

* * *

Tsunade twitched in her seat. She drowned another bottle of Sake in one sip, hoping to get drunk. Her system was not on her side today. It was taking alcohol out of her body as quickly as Shizune renewed Tonton's pet license. Today, instead of being in the care of her dead lover's niece, the pig was in the lap of Konoha's least responsible. Tonton was rubbing up against her owner's chest in a desperate attempt to stop her unending drinking. Tsunade characteristically ignored the chubby pig with another swing of her firewater, upset when none more came. Tonton squealed sadly, followed by an aggravated, "Oink!"

Tsunade, pretending to be drunk in hopes of becoming so, copied Tonton mockingly. Her thoughts betrayed her though, as they were not muddled or slurred. When was Sakura getting here? She was supposed to be here last night, considering the time and day she left. Had she taken a detour, showing the Orenji twins around? Had she stayed in Takigakure, letting the twins catch up with their older sibling? Had she let the twins rest longer than they should have, therefore slowing their progress? Had she had she decided to _not_ come back? Had she died? Had she been kidnapped? Had she—this one was even harder to think—had she been kidnapped…by _Sasuke_?

The hazel-eyed Hokage swallowed and rummaged in her desk-drawers for another bottle of her precious alcoholic drink. That thought needed to be driven away, and _now_. Growling, the Godaime pulled off the cork topping and ignored the shot-glass on her desk again. She gulped down the Sake and tried with all her might to get drunk; her charka levels were as low as she could get them, her heart was upset enough that it _should_ get drunk without hesitation, and her mind was overflowing with sad thoughts—all the makings of a soon-to-be drunk. And why wasn't she getting drunk? Why was her body against her? The Hokage patted Tonton's head again and sighed. There was more than enough to worry about, more than enough to do; but right now, all she wanted to do was forget. Float on a stream of ignorance. Grin at life.

If she were up to it, Tsunade would laugh at the thought. Grinning at life was an option long left behind. Her cursed mind wouldn't let her indulge in thoughts of nothingness. Now was not the time to get drunk, not in her position; but now, if she had been any other woman that didn't have to take care of the world as most knew it, would be the perfect occasion.

So she hoped and wished to get drunk, pretending she was a normal villager.

* * *

Robāto grinned as the cool water ran down his grimy back. Homemade soap rested on the nook of the dividers that separated the shower stalls. Even in the bliss that came from finally being clean, the Haruno found room to make faces at the sounds coming from the side stall. In his day, only a man and a woman made those sounds—girly gasps weren't leaving the lips of any man at the time, let alone were they being caused by another man. This thought brought a deeper scowl to his face as he remembered his second cousin, in love with another woman. His greedy daughter and his wrong-minded cousin were close friends. A grim smile came to his face when he thought of his niece, dear Kimani, who had married a man and had one wonderful son. The other one was a paraplegic and a girl. Kim had found herself a good husband a few skin-tones lighter than an African. His Japanese had a funny accent, faint but there, and his features were rounder than that of a Japanese man, but he made good money. Couldn't Sakura have found herself a husband like that? Why did that greedy mesu decide to stick him in prison?

Scowling an evil scowl, Robāto decided to wrap a towel around his waist and strongly stormed out of the bathhouse, ignoring the sounds, and waiting for his nice, I'm-going-on-trial-and-will-most-probably-be-killed-or-put-in-jail-for-life clothes to arrive.

* * *

Slowly smiling, Luisanna hopped her child up higher on her hip. A pretty purple skirt with flowery black designs that reached just inches above her knees and a dark purple shirt that could be mistaken for black from afar had replaced her jean-and-tee outfit. The Puerto Rican saw pink and blue hair off in the distance. She pushed her black glasses further onto the bridge of her nose and grinned when her eyes proved correct. Luisanna pushed back Fugaku's navy hair, which was highlighted with streaks of beautiful black and pointed at the oncoming figures. "There's Uncle Sasuke and Aunty Sakura!" she stage-whispered into the boy's ear, enjoying the sight of Fugaku's depressed face brightening up at the names. He had gotten along with them very well. He also had an amazing memory; most toddlers wouldn't remember the names. That was the Uchiha blood running through his veins strongly; God knew her Sanchez-Ramos blood was the dullest tool in the toolshed when it came to memories.

With their inhuman speed, the two ninja were upon her in seconds. "Anna-chan!" Sakura greated her, smiling her sweet smile.

Luisanna racked her brain for the meaning of the honorific. San meant mister, miss, or mistress; kun meant was like a teacher referring to a boy, or anyone when addressing to male children or male teenagers; sama was a more respectful version of san, used mostly when someone admires some other one; senpai used to address or refer to one's senior colleagues in a school, company, sports club, or other group, or so she had been told at the college; sensei was usually used for teachers, meaning former-born; and chan…Itachi-kun had told her that chan was used for young children, babies, and teenage girls, or, as the Uchiha used to repeat endlessly in her ear—"An-chan, An-chan, An-chan"—attached to someone another found endearing or was fond of.

Seeming confused for only a second, Luisanna smiled at the rosette, hopping the dressed-up Fugaku higher up on her hip. The boy could walk, but Luisanna just felt safer holding him—they _were_, after all, in DenkiMachi. If Sasuke was here, anyone could be here. "Sakura," the black-haired woman smiled, ignoring the fact that she might seem rude if she didn't use the honorifics. "Sasuke."

"Anna-chan, guess what!" Sakura grinned, then stopped, seeing the outfit Luisanna had on and the miniature version of "jeans" that were both fancy with etchings of fire—that looked suspiciously like Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire—and black that Fugaku had on. "You were going to visit Itachi-shi*, weren't you? I'm _so_ sorry if…we're…intruding." She didn't know how to phrase the things. "We just wanted to tell you something and…we kind of wanted to visit Itachi-shi too. Is that okay with you?"

Luisanna straightened the cuffs of her son's jeans and studied the two teens. Sasuke had his hands stuffed into the pocket of his funny-looking killing-spree sweatpants. His black eyes, much like Itachi's when they weren't spinning with the Sharingan, were staring kindly at Fugaku, and, in turn, her son was doing the same, as if a little conversation was going on between the two. Sakura was wearing a nice new outfit that made her pale skin shine like the sun. The red leather and the green spandex stood brightly against her rosy pale skin. Her green eyes were searching Luisanna worriedly. Luisanna smiled grimly, saying, "It's okay. You can visit him whenever you want, he would have wanted that. We were just about to see him."

Sakura nodded and jumped slightly when Sasuke's voice unexpectedly sounded in the silent agreement; Sasuke held his hands to his nephew and asked in his most calming voice, which surprised Sakura because Sasuke didn't have a voice one would expect to be calming because of its deepness, "May I hold him, Luisanna?"

Marveling at the bewildering sound of Sasuke asking permission—he didn't seem like the type to _ask_—Luisanna smiled at her large Uchiha boy and handed him over to his uncle. Sasuke held him carefully, as if afraid that Fugaku would break into teeny-tiny pieces if he even so much as held him wrong. The boy smiled and wrapped an arm around his uncle's neck, looking ahead to where he knew they were going. They did this every month for the past three months that Papa's been dead, Fugaku noticed, always on the same day, always with their best clothes. Sasuke smirked his smirky smile at the Fugaku and waited for the girls.

Sakura sighed and pushed back her headband on her head. Then they set forth, ready to walk and visit the number one top person on the Konoha Bingo Book at his gravesite with heavy hearts. She never thought this day would come: her, Haruno Sakura, ready to visit an Akatsuki member and cry tears for him. Actually, come to think of it, she _had_ thought this day would come, and come for an Uchiha. She just never thought it would happen to the yarō that was Uchiha Itachi. Her heart ached—for Fugaku, for Luisanna, for Sasuke, for Yū who apparently was close to Itachi, for the Uchihas in general. Two left in the world; two from the amazing, wonderful, vast clan that once was. One with a dark heart and one with who didn't even know his history.

Sakura bit her lip and followed Luisanna, staying near Fugaku and Sasuke, feeling horribly unimportant. All of these people—Sasuke, Luisanna, and Fugaku—had known Itachi, even for a short while. She hadn't. She only knew him by the entry he had in the Bingo Book. She shouldn't be going to pay her respects to someone she had never known, let alone thought should die—but she would not leave Sasuke alone at this time. Not when he needed her so much. The only reason he was visiting his brother was because she had forced him into it, because he was too proud to do it alone. The only reason he hadn't left was because she was still here. So she planted her feet to the walk and strolled into the sad parts of DenkiMachi, where ravens flew above and crows squawked even in broad daylight.

Of to visit a Bingo Book criminal.

* * *

**Dono is an honorific that, when attached to a name, roughly means lord or master.**

**Shi is an honorific used in formal writing, and sometimes in very formal speech, for referring to a person who is unfamiliar to the speaker.**

**I was planning on writing a lemon of Luisanna and Itachi, just because I need to improve my lemon skills, like I said in the beginning. What do you think? Include that in your review please? I don't usually say _please_, so you know, _do it_. For me. :) Thanks. R&R with the pretty blue button. **


	27. Chapter 27

**The only Japanese will be names and cuss words (unless I can't find them). And they still will have the asterisks (*) and translations in at the bottom. If they're not here, they're in a previous chapter. Unimportant names—like store names that are irrelevant to the story and there for visual's sake—will be in English.**

**Standard disclaimer applied.**

* * *

"I hate you."

Tsunade had started her meeting with the Haruno like that, her eyes glaring through the thin slits of her eyelids. The sound of her controlled, odious voice had scared some of the Elders into immediately thinking that the redhead was guilty, without thinking anything of the witnesses' or onlookers' ideas. Her voice, perfect and strong, scared the jury as well. Speaking of which, the jury was a group of three ninja: the two cops that had arrested him and one lawyer aware of all laws. They sat in a corner watching everything from afar, where no one knew whom the jury could be. For all these people knew, their very neighbors could be the people chosen to sentence someone to death. A few witnesses stood in a line before the Elders. The first was Hinata.

Tsunade, seeing as Sakura was running late, had decided to go on without her; after all, they had enough evidence within themselves. She slammed down her fist onto the high judge desk. After her loathing announcement, which had be unheard by all except the Elders, the jury, and the witnesses, all had gone loud; people were worried—what had happened to Sakura, who would do something like that to the village's dearest flower, why would anyone do that to a child, let alone a ninja?—and they started shouting at the resemblance that the man had for the abused ninja.

"Sit the jigoku down and shut up!" Tsunade shouted after her pounding had no effect. That made them silent, for they could see the fire of revenge and anger clearly behind her beautiful hazel eyes. "We come to punish Haruno"—she gagged, because this was the surname of her student—"Robāto for his treasonous actions. He's laid hands on his child, a child who happens to be a _ninja_! My student, for that matter! Our dear blossom!" A round of whispering more controlled than before insinuated. With a glare from the Hokage, the silence took over again. "There are witnesses who've seen this." Though Naruto was still unaccepted, what he had done for the village had earned him trust; having him here would have had people more against the redhead easier. But, alas, he was busy with something just as important. Thinking so, the Godaime Hokage motioned the Hyūga up to the stand to be asked questions by the lawyer that she was forced to assign to Robāto.

Hinata played with her fingers as she in the witness chair, staring down. "Hyūga Hinata, yes?" the lawyer asked, his voice surprisingly calm for someone who was about to lose a case. When Hinata nodded, the lawyer grinned. "And you are Haruno Sakura's friend, the supposed victim?" Hinata nodded, lifting her head to watch the man as he paced around the front of the room. "Remember you are under oath," he reminded. "Keeping that in mind, I head on to the matter at hand. Have you ever seen Haruno-san lay a hand on his daughter?"

"N-no, but I-I've—"

"Answer only the questions asked of you, please," the man ordered, reminding Hinata of the tone her father, who sat in the Elders' seat next to his father watching and waiting from afar, used when she spoke out of line or against him. "Did you, or did you not, see Robāto-san lay a hand on his daughter?" he repeated, a victorious look on his face.

Hinata twirled her fingers for a second before admitting, with a look of defeat, that she had not.

The man smiled, triumphant. "And have you ever seen Haruno-san be rude to his daughter for no apparent reason?" he questioned.

On this one, Hinata had to think for a bit. She had been to Sakura's house when she lived with her father only a few times, most of them on the rosette's birthday, for which her father was never there. There were the times when she had been waiting for Sakura to get this or that from the house before leaving on a mission. And then there was that one time with Sakura forgot to make her father dinner and he had kicked his daughter out, which was why now she was living in apartments that the Hokage was obliged to give the ninja without home.

"Have you?"

Hinata snapped back to attention, her lavender eyes strong and hateful—an expression that made her both beautiful and scary—and said to the attorney, "Y-yes, I have!" Her voice was strong despite her natural stutter that came up whenever she was worried or under pressure.

The lawyer didn't seem to be expecting this. He stared at her for a second, and then turned up to the Hokage. "Hokage-sama, see how she stutters? See how she twirls her fingers? She is most obviously lying!"

Tsunade scoffed. "She has a muscular problem!" she shouted in her ninja's defense. "Her mouth muscles have a hard time forming words! Be lucky I don't kick you and your 'client' into jail for insulting a Hyūga ninja!" It wasn't possible, but this lawyer was inexperienced and idiotic; he wouldn't know. "Now, back to your line of questioning." It took all she had not to add "kuso dead-end" instead of "line of" in front of questioning.

Looking ashamed, the lawyer apologized to Hinata. "Well, when have you?" he continued.

"O-o-o-on her birthdays and when she-she move-moved out," Hinata said. In her fight to not stutter, she stuttered more.

"And what did he explicitly _do_?"

"He wa-wa-was never th-there for her birth-birthdays an-and S-S-Sakura-ch-chan moved out be-because h-h-he yelled at her for no-not making dinner that-that one day and, w-w-well, he told m-me to leave," Hinata announced, her voice strong. "Sakura-chan had bru-bruises the ne-next d-day and she ask-asked Tsunade-sama for an ap-apartment." Her lavender eyes glared angrily at both the lawyer and the man in question. That, accompanied by Tsunade's glower, had them—expecting the redhead—soiling their pants. "A-anything el-else, sir?"

"No further questions," the lawyer huffed in defeat as he stomped back to his table. Those of the Hyūga Clan present gave half a triumphant smirk in response.

"May the opposing step forward," Tsunade officially declared. The opposing party, composed of a lawyer and two ninja, stood up. The two opposing ninja were Ino and Sai, one of whom was there because the other dragged him there. Ino stomped her way up to the podium, grinding her teeth as she walked to her friend at the situation at hand. A string of incoherent profanities managed their way through her gritting teeth. "Please continue."

Swallowing her cursing, Ino nodded and smiled tightly to her friend. "Hello, Hinata-chan," she greeted with a warmth she didn't feel at the moment. "Can you tell me something, not as a friend, but as a ninja whose bound by the law, please?"

Hinata smiled, knowing where this conversation was going. She knew her friend. Giving an agreeing grin, the young woman responded with a strong yes, surprisingly free of stammers.

Ino smiled her heatless smile. "Thank you, Hinata-chan." She turned to look at the crowed and then turned back, a look of both hate and victory in her eyes as they stopped once on her friend's so-called father. She felt like spitting, "Die in jigoku," but held her tongue. "Is it true you were with Sakura-chan the last time _this_"—she waved a hand to the accused, refusing to refer to the idiot as a _he_, just an _it_—"hurt her?"

Hinata nodded.

"And did you see the bruise?"

The Hyūga girl flinched at the memory, clear as day, that reared its ugly head. She remembered the welts starting to bubble on Sakura's cheek, the size of the hand that was imprinted on her face, the tears running over it, the sheer awfulness. Through the memory of Sakura's deep pain, Hinata managed to confirm the question. "Before she healed it I did, yes."

Ino nodded somberly. "And is that why she decided to press charges?"

"Yes. Na-Naruto-kun, Neji-k-kun, and I talked h-her into it," Hinata stated. Her lavender eyes watched her questioner with truth and honesty, a smile hidden within. The abuser stood no chance.

Ino smiled, motioning for the lawyer—who looked rather impressed that a ninja who had no other training than the learning of the laws could do such a thorough investigation—to move forward. The lawyer—whose name Ino had learned to be Ume*—walked forward. "Hyūga-san?" she asked warily. When the witness-girl nodded, Ume nodded. "Hyūga-san, who else was with you when the victim…approached?"

"Ne-Neji-kun and Nar-Naruto-kun," Hinata answered quickly. "But Na-Naruto-kun is on a mission."

"I am well aware," Ume said agreeably. "May you state your relationship with both of them?"

Hinata blushed. "Neji-Neji-kun is my cousin." She paused, and this time when she stuttered, it wasn't because of her speech troubles. "Naru-Naruto-kun is my-my-my boy-boyfr-friend." Her blush deepened.

The lawyer smiled encouragingly. "Thank you, Hyūga-san. And will your cousin please step forward?" she called to the crowd. Neji stepped forward, his face indifferent as ever. "Thank you, Hyūga Neji. May I call you Neji-san to differentiate you from your cousin?" Neji nodded as Hinata stepped off the witnesses' stand. They shot each other grinning glances, sure that they had won. As the Hyūga from the second branch sat, Ume asked, "Did you see the bruise?"

"Yes."

"Thank you. That is all," Ume said.

The Elders nodded at the testimony. "Has Lady Tsunade come to a decision?" the Chief Elder asked in his raspy voice. Tsunade bobbed her head, not having to think about it. "And the witnesses?" The three ninja acting as jury stood and nodded. "Come back to us when it is agreed upon." The group took it as a dismissal and left.

* * *

A lone, traitorous tear fought its way out of Sasuke's dark, sad eye at the sight of his brother's tombstone. He knew Itachi wasn't under that stone; he had burned the body, thinking that no one would really want one last look at Itachi. He certainly hadn't, after seeing with clear eyes what he had done to it. Thinking back, the Uchiha regretted it deeply. But there was no time for regret as he knelt before the black marble of his brother's tomb. He couldn't bring him back, Sasuke realized as he wiped the disloyal tear from his cheek. He had always known that he couldn't bring Itachi back, but it had never hit him with this much force. It felt as if his chest was caving in on him, crushing every last bone and organ housed in it. And it hurt. So much so that he is surprised at the force. He had barred himself against every physical pain imaginable—trained to resist. And he just realized that he couldn't only be hurt physically. He realized, with a sudden stab at his heart that was no doubt the cause of one of his ribs, that his walls were too thin. His heart—his traitorous, traitorous, traitorous heart—was too weak.

And yet, as this realization formed, Sasuke couldn't bring himself to care. He was preoccupied—thinking of the times he had spent with his brother. Sure, most of them were horrible ones of death and murder—but what if Itachi hadn't been forced to kill his family. What relationship would they have then? No doubt it would be the normal—did he know what normal was?—older/younger sibling relationship, the kind in which there were little times in which they'd get along, advice from each other to follow and ignore, joking and bothering. Like before all of this happened—before the world decided to be so cruel and malicious.

Sasuke gritted his teeth, looking over to his side where his sister-in-law sat in the mud as it started to rain. Her face was in front of him, curling over the stone protectively. Her short brown hair covered her face almost entirely. But what he could see, Sasuke could tell it was covered in tears. And her lips were moving. Though the words were softly spoken, he could make them out: "_But our love it was stronger by far than the love, Of those who were older than we— Of many far wiser than we— And neither the angels in heaven above, Nor the demons down under the sea, Can ever dissever my soul from the soul Of the beautiful Annabel Lee._"

It was a poem, he noticed, by Edgar Allan Poe: _Annabel Lee_. He remembered it from long ago, from when he used to sit around reading poetry in his childhood when his father and brother were gone. Poe was one of his favorites and, he soon grasped with a sudden shock, one of Itachi's. Sasuke swallowed and grit his teeth again. He had to be strong. He had to be strong. He had to be strong.

Sakura stared at the two before her, resting the boy to the ground on the grass where his clothes wouldn't get dirtied. Luisanna, crouched protectively above the headstone of her dead love, was whispering something sadly. Sasuke was standing with his fists clutched. She was alarmed when she saw his back hunch abruptly, a soft sob—unnoticed by even him—ripping through him. Quickly, she snapped to his side, resting a worried hand on his back. She was shocked to see tears running as if in a marathon from his beautiful, depthless, dark black eyes. Biting her lip, unsure of what to do, she warily lifted a finger to his cheeks, shocked to actually feel the salty liquid sticking to her fingertips. Her jaw dropped slightly before she surprised herself by grabbing Sasuke and pulling him into an iron-gripped hug.

And Sasuke felt himself shatter in the strong and thin arms of his hostage. He wrapped his arms around her back, crushing her to him as her arms snaked around his shoulders. Tears flew freely from his open eyes as he stared relentlessly at the unyielding headstone—because Itachi was gone and with him the happiness of a little boy, the heart of a young woman, and Sasuke's kindly older brother. And there was no hope for his return. Through this all, Sakura whispered meaningless coos to his ear and rubbed his back in hopes of calming him.

Fugaku wobbled over to his mother to rest in her warm and sad lap. He had no idea what was so sad, all he knew was that it mad him sad and he didn't like it anymore than he liked the normal sadness that engulfed him.

* * *

Suigetsu stared at Jūgo, all of his teasing nature gone from his violet eyes. "Please. I'm begging you," he whispered. Although Karin was sleeping—napping as told, like a little kid—he didn't want to take any chances. "Please."

Jūgo watched worriedly from behind ginger eyes. He was hesitant.

"That Naruto doesn't disserve this. Think about it. Think about Sakura, think about how she makes so many people happy back at her home," the blue-haired teen begged. "Jūgo—_please_—help me. Think about it."

"Yes, the people she makes happy," the eighteen-year-old sighed. "But what about her own happiness? Was _she_ happier in Konoha or is she happier with us _here_?" His flame-colored eyes burned question into his friend's mind. "And what will Sasuke-san do when we're figured out? Have you yet thought of _that_?"

"But, Jūgo—"

"I think you should think this through more before you offer a plan like this," Jūgo kindly stated with gentle eyes. "Come to me with a solid plan, and then I'll consider it."

Suigetsu slumped into his chair in defeat.

* * *

Shikamaru rested on the limb of a tree, watching through the leaves the clouds. That one looked like puppy—that one looked like a kunai—that one looked like a scroll… The sun was in the sky again after a nice night of sleep. He wondered briefly if his teammates were looking for him. They had most likely only just gotten out of the cave—which he didn't want to go in. Too unsafe, and he was a coward, like he liked to remind everyone.

Curiously, he stole a look down beneath the trees and across the clearings. There rested a pile of rubble. Shocked, he flashed down from the tree. Had they— They had to have gotten out before it—

He ran to the site, slower than he would have liked. All the while, he thought to himself _How troublesome_ to hide his fear.

* * *

**Ume—_a Japanese name meaning "plum blossom"_**

**Edgar Allan Poe is an actual poet. Actually, he's my favorite and _Annabel Lee _is my favorite poem.**

**Robāto comes to justice! Who else is just as happy as I am? Tsunade is in denial, I hope you could inference that.**

**I think I put in a little SasuSaku moment—the first of many, believe me! For what is a love story without baby-steps? No good story is made with: _BOOM! We're in love! _I want to make a story as amazing as _alwaysZutarian_'s _My Heart Burns For You_ or _Tiger Priestess_'s _Babyfied_. I want a big hit, so, please, tell your friends about this story if you like it. (Insert puppy dog eyes.) So yeah. Feelings, SasuSaku moments, Luisanna outrages, Fugaku adorableness (should I give him a nickname? Fuly? Fu? Kuku? Suggest please), Hebia love, Shikamaru hidings, Naruto anger, Kiba Kiba-ness, Kakashi laziness, and so on and so forth to come.**

**By the way, I got a Naruto app on my iPod so…yeah. I'm drooling over it. APPS! OMG APPS! YES!**

**Also, _please_ read my ItaAn moments—there are no lemons, I decided to practice lemons later—called _Love_. Review. Bye.**


	28. Chapter 28

**The only Japanese will be names and cuss words (unless I can't find them). And they still will have the asterisks (*) and translations in at the bottom. If they're not here, they're in a previous chapter. Unimportant names—like store names that are irrelevant to the story and there for visual's sake—will be in English.**

**Standard disclaimer applied.**

* * *

Sakura lovingly smiled at Sasuke as she wiped the tears from his face.

Sasuke refused to look her in the eye; he would not see her eyes and see that she thought he was as weak as she. But he didn't swat her hands away—her soft, kind, and cleansing hands—for fear of more tears rushing to his eyes. He felt as if her hands were the dam between him and the tears ready and waiting to onslaught. If he had to go through years of holding these in, he deserved a moment of crying. But crying was weak. Just because he deserved it doesn't mean he wanted it. Because want it he did not. He would feel so much better if he weren't crying. He bit down on his lip hard as to stop the sobs; he could feel blood dripping over his lip.

Sakura glanced down at the gravestone. It seemed as if the sky was crying just for him, just for Itachi. Water pooled inside to engraved symbols. As she watched, she rubbed Sasuke's back. "It's okay," she said, turning back to Sasuke. He still wouldn't look her in the eye. "He's okay. He's happy, watching down on you."

Sasuke swallowed, letting himself be comforted. He had to stop crying. He had to be strong. For Luisanna, Fugaku, and Sakura, he had to be strong. So the Uchiha whimpered in Sakura's embrace for a second longer, willing himself to be his own barrier again. Then, he held the rosette at arms' length gave her a rare, limping thank-you smirk and pushed her away. Sasuke looked at his nephew, who was curling worriedly into his mother's lap as she cried over the tombstone, and tapped his illegitimate sister-in-law's shoulder. "Crying doesn't help," he stated in his half-dead voice. The other half of his voice, the half that wasn't covered in stone and hardened by pain, sounded almost comforting.

"Mama," Fugaku whispered, as if siding with his uncle. He really didn't want to see his mother this sad anymore. Her pretty brown eyes shouldn't be drowning in tears.

Luisanna bit her lip, letting the sadness grip her missing heart once more, before looking down at her son, responding to the sound of her name from his lips. She sucked up the misery that the sight of Itachi's headstone brought and reminded herself that he had left her with something; he had left her with the most important something that anyone could ever ask for: He had left her with Uchiha Fugaku, a piece of him and her mixed into a perfect little bundle. That perfect little bundle needed her now, and if he needed her now, then the world didn't exist. Fugaku was asking for her happiness; she could fake that. So, she ran her fingers over her tear-streaked face and forced a smile. Her son didn't know the difference. "Alright," she gulped, "I know."

Sasuke nodded and deftly lifted his nephew from his "sister's" lap. With silent thanks from Luisanna's eyes, Sasuke ruffled Fugaku's navy locks in an attempt to cheer him. Children were so easily distracted. What he wouldn't give to be the same… But Fugaku was no regular child—he was far more aware. The little Uchiha wasn't as oblivious as most children. He worried over his mother as she lifted herself from the ground and took a deep breath.

The heavy mood rained down on Sakura's shoulders as heavily as the rain that rolled off her waterproof leather jacket. She swallowed profoundly and watched as the two in mourning shoved off the pain from their shoulders to cheer a depressed child. It was possibly the most heroic thing she'd ever seen; more gallant than fighting off thousands of enemies one-handedly to protect a village. It made her heart soar to see that Sasuke—the cold, unfeeling, pain-causing Uchiha Sasuke—could have this sweet side, even in the midst of incessant pain. She glanced up quickly at the pouring rain and then to the boy Sasuke was shielding. Near the rainproof cotton of Sasuke's sleeveless black shirt, Fugaku wouldn't get sick.

The rosette let the little, impromptu family that she had somehow become a part of have their moment for a second longer before announcing, "We should find warm shelter."

"Yeah," Luisanna said, her voice cracking.

Sasuke silently agreed, placing the jean-clad boy on the floor so he could walk. They weren't far from the motel, even if it was on the bad side of town. They would go there, Sasuke decided, leading the small group to the motel before asking their opinion.

* * *

Suigetsu scowled into the air above him, glaring intently at the clear plastic paperweight that he was throwing up and catching. He gritted his teeth, burrowing himself deeper into one of the three extra beds that surrounded the king and adjusting the white towel around his waist. His brain pulsed with confusing thoughts. Jūgo's words throbbed in his brain to the rhythm of his pounding heart. _Was_ Sakura happier in Konoha? _Was _Sakura miserable in Konoha? _Was_ Sakura happier with Team Taka? _Would _it be the right thing to bring her home? How would she _react_? Would she _turn_ on her own village, just so she could be with Sasuke? Would she _hate_ him for bringing her home? Would she _thank _him for doing so? And, most troubling of all, was it _better_ for Sakura to be with Team Taka?

Was it better for a goody-two-shoes, missing-ninja hunting, law-abiding, death-hating, loyal Konoha kunoichi to roam around the countryside with a team of killing, lying, law-braking, world-hating, rouge shinobi?

The Hōzuki didn't have time to mull over the thought because of the sound of a creaking door over the thud of hammering rain. Suigetsu straightened up immediately. The only people that were expected were Sasuke and Sakura; a greeting was in order for the imawashii boss-man and his lovely companion. Of course, he wasn't allowed _near_ that lovely companion…but what the jigoku! He was probably going to die as soon as he got back from returning that same lovely companion, so what did it matter if he quickened the date? He was out into the kitchen before the creaking had ended.

"You should probably give Fugaku-kun a bath. He could get sick," Sakura was saying as she opened the door. Her voice was surprisingly dismal for a person as peppy as she usually was. "I'll take care of the clothes if you want."

"Welcome home, Sakura-chan, Sasuke-san and, uh," Suigetsu pursed his lips as he said this. "You're quite the lady's man, aren't you, Sasuke?" Sui teased when he noticed the extra woman and kid. Who were they?

But, again, that thought was shoved aside at the look on Team Taka's unknowing prisoner. Sakura looked as if she had chocked on something; her arms were outstretched before her as if pushing away something horrible. A dark red blush, that could be considered purple, pooled onto her cheeks. Her jaw was swinging on its hinges, as if it would fall off any second. Sasuke looked annoyed. "Suigetsu, put on some underwear," he deadpanned.

Purple eyes scanned his own body, only to realize lately that his fluffy towel had slipped off his waist and was resting on the concrete tiles of the kitchen. Those same eyes widened in shock. "D—I—Wh—," he stuttered as he ducked down to grab the towel, a blush covering his face as deeply as Sakura's.

Sakura swallowed and dropped her arms, her jaw still swinging on its hinges. "There are some things which can never be unseen," she gulped. "Please tell me you covered Fugaku's eyes, Sasuke. _Please_." The name sounded familiar to Suigetsu's ears. Sasuke answered with a roll of his eyes as he let the kid out from behind the protective shield of his body.

The woman, though, with the black haired looked unfazed. "Eh," she shrugged in response to Sakura's gulp. "I've seen better. I may be biased, but I think Itachi ruined men for me."

Sakura gagged over the sink. "Some things can never be unheard," she muttered. "I need acid. Someone bring me acid," she said over the sound of running water and pouring rain. The black-haired woman laughed a half-humorous laugh. After pretending to wash out her eyes and ears, Sakura looked over to Suigetsu. He was dumbstruck in the archway of the kitchen, holding up the towel that had fallen off his body tightly. "All right, now that that's over with," she announced. "Suigetsu, this is Luisanna." From the look on the Hōzuki's face, he remembered the name. "Do you understand that scarring comment now?" Suigetsu made a face as if he was about to vomit and then laughed. "Where is everybody?"

Sui scratched the back of his head and looked to Sasuke, who was busying himself with answering the kid's questions, for permission. When the Team Take leader ignored him, Suigetsu proceeded. "Karin's taking that nap"—Sasuke laughed—"and Jūgo's showering."

Sakura nodded and turned to Luisanna. "Kuku-kun should take a bath or something. I could wash his clothes if you want," she suggested, looking over to where Sasuke was ruffling Fugaku's hair. She'd never seen this fatherly side of him. She loved it. But, when she thought about it, wasn't this just like him? He'd always been protective of every little child they had to protect. He had even saved a little girl once. But even back then, he was putting up a barrier. Was it that this child was of his kin that was wreaking havoc on the brick wall he had to keep his feelings in? Or was it simply that Fugaku looked so much like his father?

Sakura shrugged, saddened that she couldn't find an answer for the way that Sasuke's eye twinkled or how his smirk held some actual joy; slim as it was, the joy was there. He'd make an excellent father, should he ever come out of this desolate rut he was forcing himself into. Would he ever make it out? Was it too late already? It couldn't be too late—the smirk on his handsome face was proof. The fact that he hadn't gone on a killing spree when he found out that he had family left was proof. The fact that he had let her stay with him was proof. The fact that he was trying to find out more about Itachi before his death was proof. It wasn't too late for him. Hopefully, in the near future, he'd repent every life he took and every thing he stole. Well, except maybe taking Naruto's life. His life was of no use. Maybe, in the near future, Sasuke would get off this crazy high he was on and start his own family, like he wanted to. Maybe he would do it now. Maybe he was getting tiered of being overlord to a nation of thieves and liars. Maybe he wanted to settle down. And if he did, with whom would he do it? Would he choose the crazy, idiotic, unknowing Karin? Or would he run away with some other woman that he met during his years away? Either way he would leave her—she wasn't enough for him. She was too much of a goody-goody. All she could ask for was being his friend. The rest she would have to daydream.

Sakura heaved a silent sigh.

"Yeah. I have clothes for him though; no need to wash," Luisanna answered silently. She could see the longing in Sakura's eyes and to whom it was directed. She pretended to not have noticed, but Luisanna knew that Sakura had noticed, being the ninja that she was. Luisanna pulled off a small black backpack from her shoulders. "I always have extra clothes."

"Great!" Sakura said, pushing too much enthusiasm into her voice as she tried to get over whatever thoughts she was just having. "The master bath has a little bath-and-shower stall. Is Jūgo in there?"

"Nah," Suigetsu answered, unknowing of the strange too-happiness in Sakura, "I raced him for it. He lost."

Sakura cringed at the thought of poor, massive Jūgo squeezing into the second bathroom. Shrugging it off, she turned to Sasuke. "Sasuke, Anna-chan is going to give Kuku-kun a bath," she told him, walking over to the uncle-and-nephew duo. Fugaku's half-sad eyes had a glow in them when Sakura gave him a glance. She smiled at him and ran a hand through his navy-colored hair. "Can you be away from Uncle Sasuke for that long, Kuku-kun?"

Fugaku pursed his lips. "Who is Kuku-kun?" he asked, his chocolate eyes burning with curiosity.

Sakura laughed a true laugh—children brought out the best in her—and pulled out a chair. Fugaku was sitting on the tabletop and Sasuke was sitting in the chair in front of the boy. With a glance to Sasuke, Sakura turned to boy to face her. "Kuku-kun is the nickname I gave you. I _love_ your name, Fugaku, it's very, _very_ pretty"—Fugaku smiled with a very dim blush—"but it makes me think of your grandpa. Your papa's and Uncle Sasuke's papa had the same name." When Fugaku smiled, Sakura stood up and lifted the boy from the tabletop. She handed him over to his mother.

Sasuke couldn't help a small smirk from lifting his lips. How natural Sakura looked with a child in hand… The smile that lifted her cheeks when she lifted the boy… How would she look with one of _his_ children? Sasuke frowned before he could answer his own thought.

"Mama's going to give you a bath and put you in your pajamas," Luisanna whispered to her son, "and then we're going to wait here with Uncle Sasuke and Aunty Sakura until the rain stops, okay?" Sakura pointed the way to the master bath and Luisanna left, pulling Suigetsu by the ear and telling him to put on some pants.

* * *

"Guilty?" the one lawyer acting as jury asked the two ninja acting with him.

The woman cop rolled her eyes as if the answer was obvious. The man nodded. "Guilty," they said simultaneously.

Nodding to each other, the three walked over to the door that connected the room they were currently in to the court. The decision had been made; there was no turning back. Once the victim came to witness justice, justice would be preformed. Death would be delivered.

* * *

Tsunade stared intently at the large blue eyes questioning her. She honestly didn't know the answer to the inquiry asked. Where _was_ Sakura? Even if she had been running late, she should be here by now. They wouldn't be able to go forth with the execution if Sakura wasn't there. They wouldn't even be able to sentence him to death without Sakura there to confirm it. But, more importantly, if she were to be gone for more than a week without permission, she would officially be considered a nukenin. She would be hunted down and killed, not granted the mercy Sasuke has been on Naruto's behalf. Tsunade could only be allowed to grant that leniency once, no matter how bad she wanted to do it again—for Sakura, just for Sakura.

"I…" Tsunade muttered silently, hazel eyes watching the crowd of onlookers. Should they see anything out of the ordinary, all jigoku would brake loose. "I don't know, Ino. She's late, is all. She'll be back around the week. She was with the Orenji twins; they might be showing her around." Her voice sounded more like she was convincing herself rather than the young ninja. Sakura was running late. She _had_ to be running late. She couldn't have…she couldn't have been captured. She might be rounding up nukenin as the Godaime spoke. She'd come back home in a few days, sporting a couple thousand gashes on her body, breathing heavy, needed Jonasan and Mazenta to keep her up, but alive and bringing a set of papers to prove the deaths of the nukenin.

Concerned but composed, the blonde Yamanaka nodded and pushed herself off the platform that Tsunade sat on. On the side, standing still, Hinata and Neji glared keenly at the doors through which the jurymen and –woman had disappeared. Hinata refused to glare at the redhead that was Sakura's so-called father, badly as she wanted. Just breathing the same air as him disgusted her; being in the same room all but revolted her. Hinata wasn't one to hold grudges, but this man had done more than enough to disserve it.

So much suspense was in the air that when the doors opened, it was almost in slow motion.

Tsunade straightened up, looking forward to the verdict. When the voice of the lawyer came up, strong and sure, Tsunade felt a grin lift her cheeks. This was it; this was the moment of truth. "We declare Haruno Robāto guilty of the following charges: laying hand on a ninja, treasonous by default, and child abuse. Justice will be carried out as soon as the victim arrives to see it carried."

* * *

Debris cluttered the space around him; dust clouding the air and blurring sight. Shikamaru surveyed the wreckage, looking for body parts—broken limps, severed heads. "Kiba! Kakashi! Naruto!" he shouted out to the mess. He shouted that until his voice was cracking and his throat was sore. How would he break the news to Tsunade—or to Sakura—or to Tsume and Hana? How would the village deal with the loss of the Nine-Tailed Fox, the famous Copy Ninja, and a trained tracker all at once? How would their families deal with it? "_Kiba—Kakashi—Naruto!_" he shouted one last time, before his voice gave up completely on him.

Just then, a faint sound—the sound of a voice—echoed in the distance. "Shikamaru! Shikamaru! Shikamaru!"

In the relief that surrounded him—no triple funeral, no telling families, no grief—Shika ran to the voice—voice_s_ he noticed now—with an expression of pure relief and annoyance. All that wasted terror! But they were okay!

As the remaining trio of his team came into view, the strategist calmed. He could continue their wild goose chase in peace.

* * *

**Sorry about the late update! Please forgive me! Please! I told you about that Naruto app—I was catching up! Plus, my friend showed me InuYasha and I was watching that on Netflix—episode 93. And I had a small case of writers' block and demotivation. And I was at my Dad's all week; who can hardly read English, and thinks that everything I write has to do with sex, drugs, or alcohol.**

**But these are all excuses. I beg for forgiveness on my knees before you, my dear readers. Am I forgiven? No? Insert Rage Comix face "Okay…". Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry!**

**Now that I've groveled, please read Love. It's my ItaAn story. Please review as my _AWESOME_ friend KillerMay has. I need to PM you. I'm sorry that I haven't gotten around to it.**

**Okay, so anyway, review here, and review now.**


	29. Chapter 29

**The only Japanese will be names and cuss words (unless I can't find them). And they still will have the asterisks (*) and translations in at the bottom. If they're not here, they're in a previous chapter. Unimportant names—like store names that are irrelevant to the story and there for visual's sake—will be in English.**

**Standard disclaimer applied.**

* * *

Sasuke leaned on the drywall of the cheap hotel and observed with cold eye as his nephew found restless sleep to the strange buzz of Luisanna's hum. When Fugaku's russet eyes drifted off to the land of sleep, Sasuke's frozen voice interrupted the peaceful silence that ensued in the midst of the thunderous rain. "Luisanna," the Uchiha said in a monotone, "I was thinking." Sakura smiled as she watched him, knowing where this was going. They had talked about this last night, when the word _sterile _came up to strike fear into Sasuke's very being; apparently, Sasuke had decided well. "Fugaku needs to learn how to use the Sharingan properly." The black-haired woman nodded, wary. Because Sasuke was not one to delay, he simply announced as soon as she nodded, "I'm taking him to the Sound."

Luisanna swallowed; her left eye twitched; the muscles in the arms around her son tightened. She never dreamed she could be stronger than Sasuke, never once asked that of Kami, but now it was what her twitching self wanted. She wanted to have iron-strong strength—no, she wanted the strength of a curse seal. She wanted strength stronger than that of Sasuke's, she wanted to be able to hold her sleeping child and keep him away from any and every possible danger. Though she didn't notice it, her jaw had dropped slightly in shock and a pained gasp had escaped her lips. Her eyes darted to the archway behind Sasuke, knowing very well she'd never have the speed to match his and make it out, but having to think about the escapes anyway. She was no ninja but the simple survival instincts of a mother were strong in her. She stared, wide-eyed, at her son's uncle.

Beside her, Sakura glared at him and positioned herself protectively around the two. She really didn't want to fight Sasuke—and she _wouldn't_—but she would tackle him and wrestle him until Luisanna had a chance to escape and she had a chance to talk some sense into him.

Sasuke paid heed to neither Sakura's nor Luisanna's reaction. His black eyes stared seriously at the boy moving restlessly in his mother's arms as depression seeped through his dreams. Through Fugaku's eyelids, Sasuke thought he had seen the red of the Sharingan. But he must've been mistaken, as no Sharingan could be that strong in a toddler. No, the light of the Sharingan could not be shining through the boy's dreams, nightmares or no.

"No," Luisanna said in the same gasp that had convulsed through her. "Never."

"I did not ask permission," Sasuke threatened. "He will come to the Sound with Team Taka and he shall learn the Sharingan before it hurts him. And then I intend to raise him in the way of the Uchiha."

Salty tears started to line the black eyelashes of the fearful mother. "No," Luisanna said again. "Never. I won't let you. 'Raise him in the way of the Uchiha,' Sasuke? How? By raising him to hate everything and take his nephews from their mothers? By teaching him to want to die at the hands of his brother?" The mother's words turned from whisper to shout. "By motivating him to want nothing but revenge? By educating him on how not to get over things? By provoking him to murder every chance he had at a good life? By causing him to turn on the people that love him? By triggering him to move away from those who adore him, from those who cannot live without him? Is _that_ how you plan to 'raise him in the way of the Uchiha,' Sasuke! No! No! No! I lost Itachi to you; I _refuse_ to lose Fugaku to you too! No! I _will_ _not_ lose my baby boy to anyone in anyway! No! No! No! _No mi bebe!_ Not my baby! No!" By this time, Luisanna's voice could be heard over the thunder and rain, over the din and downpour, and into the streets across. Tears were pouring down her cheeks and raining down on her jowl as hard as they were outside. Fugaku had woken up and was shouting his mother's name, tears drowning his own cheeks. Luisanna held Fugaku tighter. "Shh, _bebito_, shh. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

The three-year-old held on tightly to dark purple shirt that his mother wore as he whispered, "_Mami, Mami_, Mama, Mama," through the howls that escaped his small lips. "Mama, Mama where's Papa! I want Papa! _Papa_!"

Luisanna's brown eyes opened wide in shock. Tears raced down her cheeks faster than they had before. "I'm sorry, _bebito_, I'm so sorry." Her voice cracked. She didn't want to take her eyes off her son, but she knew that Sasuke could see the pure and utter _hate_ directed at him anyway. She rocked Kuku back and forth, trying desperately to silence the boy's cries.

"Sasuke!" Sakura growled. She ran her sharp nails over Kuku's navy hair in a relaxing manor. "Either we take Anna-chan or I'll stay with them. But Kuku-kun isn't going with us on his own!" she barked over Fugaku's wails. They were silencing and slowing, becoming lazy. The boy was about to fall asleep again. "Look at him! He's suffering over his father; do you want him crying over his mother too? He's just a little boy!"

"He is an _Uchiha_," Sasuke disagreed.

Sakura's green eyes lighted. "So were you!" she shouted, outraged, though keeping her voice down as to not wake the toddler again. "Weren't you an Uchiha when your whole family was massacred? Didn't it still affect you?" Sasuke was about to open his mouth, dragged into the fight by the mention of his family, but Sakura continued. "Isn't that why _you_ massacred what was left of your family? Are you about to do that to another little boy—take him from his family? Being an Uchiha doesn't make you born with a cold look on the world and a messed up view of your kin, Sasuk—"

_Cold look on the world_.

Sakura stopped cold as her own words echoed in her head. Sasuke wasn't— But he was trying to take a little boy from his mother. And he'd tried to kill Naruto so many, many times. But Naruto disserved it! Didn't he? If Naruto had just let Sasuke have his revenge… But who would let a vengeance-obsessed teenager kill a village of elderly and children? Sasuke just wanted to avenge his family. The same one he was braking apart by trying to take away Kuku-kun. It was just because he didn't know better! He had been raised by a power-crazed snake lord. Her uncle had raised him. And yet, he had killed the very person who'd raised him. But it was a relief that Uncle Oreo couldn't kill more people. But hadn't Sasuke felt any remorse?

Sakura's mind conjured up a terrifying image. Sasuke: holding up the Sword of Kusanagi as it dripped with the blood of innocent travelers, a smirk on his bloodied face. But the blood on his face…it wasn't his own; it was the blood of the half-dozen voyagers that had been in the wrong place at the wrong time and just so happened to see Sasuke. The red blood on the Kusanagi shimmered. As the blood shimmered, Sakura knew—Sasuke _never_ felt remorse; he couldn't care less.

And then another image: The Kusanagi, free of blood and sparkling in the night's dim shine. Its tip pressed to the skin of her throat; hands restraining her escape; trees surrounding her everywhere; the sting of thorns' scratch on her legs. _"I don't want to do this, Sakura,"_ Sasuke's voice echoed in her head. _"The task is simple: Come with me."_ The words of the same conversation echoed in her head. _"Bonds are weaknesses."_

Then black.

Sakura swallowed at the memory as another ambushed her. The red of the Sharingan staring at her eyes; the feel of Sasuke's soft and callused fingers holding her face still; being unable to move her eyes, to look away. Sasuke's voice, terrorizing and comforting at the same time: _"Forget what happened in the past day. Instead, what happened was you decided to take a brake. You asked for a leave from Tsunade and she gave it to you. You went camping and ran across Team Taka. You asked me if you could join. You were allowed. You want to kill Naruto—to murder him ruthlessly. Choose your own reason."_ Then the pause of his voice as the Sharingan's black tomoe spun. _"And you don't like Suigetsu."_

"Sasuke!" Sakura growled, her eyes wide with tears. She bit her lip and glared at him. "Sasuke," she said again, her voice more controlled as she watched the Uchiha's uncaring eyes. The same eyes that shined as he killed innocents. She wanted to tell him that she hated him; that she couldn't loathe him more even if she tried. But, as saltwater tears traced their path down her face, she found that she couldn't move her jaw past the sound of his voice. "Sasuke…" she said as her jaw jiggled. Then she swallowed and turned to Luisanna. "Go. Hide. Take Kuku-kun and hide," she told her through the knot in her throat. Luisanna moved without being told twice, running out the door with her son in hand. When Luisanna was gone, Sakura whispered, "Sasuke…" The water in her eyes obstructed her glare. In a second, she was crouching out the windowsill. "Sasuke," she said again, her voice full of disapproval and hate. She jumped down headfirst into the pouring rain like a pouncing lioness, leaving a shocked-looking Uchiha in her wake.

* * *

"Troublesome teammates," Shikamaru muttered as he walked behind his three colleagues. Naruto was going on and on about how worried they were and how much trouble they had gone through to find him, only to find out that he had been resting on a tree.

Kiba blinked and stared straight ahead, absentmindedly petting Akamaru. Where could Uchiha Sasuke be? How many parts of Japan could he have hidden in? And if they could bring him back, what would they do with him? He should be sentenced to death, but with all the ninja and villagers willing to fight for his life—most of them female—how would they go on with the sentence? And with Naruto's unwillingness to take the life of one of his friends, how would they protect their village? Kiba sighed, giving up. These thoughts were for the Hokage; let her deal with it.

The rain glued Akamaru's fur to his body uncomfortably. He puppyish whine to Kiba had the tracker's attention on the way he scratched Akamaru's head. "Hey, Akamaru," Kiba murmured. "Talk." Akamaru whined in defiance. "Mean," Kiba muttered. He really wanted to hear his voice. But ah well—couldn't very well force him into something.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto called, interrupting his own rant. "Where we going next?"

Kakashi sighed, "The Sound, I guess."

The team nodded.

* * *

The click of handcuffs announced Robāto's official jailing. The redhead's scowl showed his annoyance. But, truly, he did not believe that anything could keep him. He was Konoha's blacksmith, for the love of Kami! He didn't know how that would help with his escape, but it would. Konoha would eventually need him and set him free.

"Serves you right, baka!" Ino shouted in triumph, watching as the guards of the trial walked him away to a low-security jail. The higher-security ones were saved for traitors and infiltrators, the type of people that would kill a ninja-abuser. It was the type of place that Ino and Tsunade and all the others that loved Sakura-chan wanted him in. But, alas, they had to keep _some_ kind of restrain. It takes a weak person to punish but a strong person to forgive or something like that. Ah well. His death was inevitable. Once Sakura came back…

* * *

Suigetsu walked into the bedroom. Luisanna and her kid had just left in a frenzied speed. The only window in the motel room was open, letting the rain bathe the single bed beneath it. Jūgo stared, shocked, at the window. Karin sat on the bed she just woke from with a grin on her face. Sasuke's expression was hidden from the blue-haired water ninja. All of Team Taka was in sight—all of it excepting their medic nin. "Hey," Sui asked worriedly, "where's Sakura-chan?"

Karin was the one to answer. Her giddy grin told Suigetsu that something had happened to Sakura. "Your dearest Sakura-_chan_," she giggled, making fun of the suffix, "ran away!" Her words trailed off into a childish laugh; despite the news being told, the snicker was almost infectious like that of a child. "She kept saying Sasuke-kun's name and she jumped out the window."

Suigetsu glared at his team leader. "What did you _do_?" he ordered, forgetting the fact that Sasuke could murder him in seconds. "Where did she _go_?" He was almost shocked when the black fire of the Cursed Seal of Heaven flickered across the back Sasuke's neck and retreated into the mark. Suigetsu was on the soaked bed under the window, looking for a sign of Sakura. When he turned his sight back into the room, the door of the kitchen was clicking close. "Karin, what did he _do_? Where did Sakura _go_?"

Karin's cheeky smile was still in place as she answered, her bittersweet voice light with joy. Finally! She was gone! That pink-haired vixen was gone! "He was talking to some foreigner with a baby about taking the kid to the Sound and that tramp was telling him off—disrespectful towards my Sasuke-kun—and then she started saying his name, told the woman to run off, and jumped out the window."

Suigetsu frowned. "Jūgo, can you make sure Happiness here doesn't bring the world out of balance," he asked. "I'm going to go after Sakura and the boss-man."

* * *

Sasuke walked out the motel's door, feeling the Cursed Seal of Heaven try to take over him. But no, no matter how much he loved the power that flowed through him when the seal was open, the immense charka that flooded throughout him left a track big enough that you didn't need to be a ninja to know it was there. The clacking of his open-toed boots against the dust-and-mud road was the only sound that broke through the thick veil of his anger. Where had Sakura gone? Why had she gone? The Sharingan should have removed anything and everything about the past that would make her angry with him.

The glow of Sakura's green charka didn't land. Instead, it took to the rooftops.

Sasuke grunted as he used his strength to propel himself into thin air. He landed on the rooftop of a crumbling home. He shook his head, following the obvious track that Sakura had left. The cursed seal fought his hold on it; Sasuke held fast as he followed her.

* * *

Sakura's fury powered her feet to go to the rooftop of the Cha Ha. Rain matted her hair to her skull. Sakura rested her arm across her lifted knee. When she had gotten here, she had found a dry spot on the roof; now she sat, staring up at the shining moon over the powerful downpour as she tried to figure out what the jigoku she was going to do about getting mind-raped.

There was Hebia—long lost mother found at last—and there was Burūsu—newly found little brother—to think about. She hadn't been with her mother for over five years. If she left them… There was no telling if she would ever see them again. Burūsu would be so sad; he had waited for her arrival since the day he was born. And Hebia…Kami, how Sakura missed her mother. No matter how used to the burning ache of her absence, it was never really left in the background. If she stayed with them, she would have to see Sasuke a lot. She would have to stomach his murders and take his abuses in silence, but she would be free of him when he went away like they had now. And she would be sure that he was safe, even if she had to somehow stomach Karin's restless advances to Sasuke. She had done so so far. If she stayed with her mother and brother, they could be a happy little family. The picture painted by her confused imagination was beautiful.

But then there was Naruto. Naruto, who she owed so much to. Naruto, whose happiness was worth so much more than her own. Naruto, who she had plastered a fake smile on her face as she fell apart inside for. Naruto, who deserved happiness more than any other person she knew. And there was Kakashi. Kakashi, who had taken care of her father when the man had been kicked out. Kakashi, who had trained her in the way of the ninja. Kakashi, who had protected her. Kakashi, who she loved. And Ino. Ino, who was worried sick about her. Ino, who she missed. Ino, whom she had endless fights with but still loved. Ino, who made her laugh. And TenTen. TenTen, who needed advice with guys. TenTen, who loved the world. TenTen, who loved weapons. TenTen, who hated secrets. And Tsunade. Tsunade, who trained her to be a medic nin. Tsunade, who drank like the devil. Tsunade, who was worrying over her now. Tsunade, who was about to have no choice but to make her a nukenin if she was gone for much longer.

Sakura stood up, breathing in the sent of rain-covered grass below her. She would go to the Sound, she decided, and say goodbye to her mother and brother, maybe even convince them to come home, and then she would go home. Sakura bent down into a crouch and sprung.

* * *

**The next one is 30! Yay! I got this one done quick! I guess I was on a roll. Review, please. Can you read _Love_, too please? Oh well. Please, review! I love you all. Now, I have to go write the next one.**


	30. Chapter 30

**The only Japanese will be names and cuss words (unless I can't find them). And they still will have the asterisks (*) and translations in at the bottom. If they're not here, they're in a previous chapter. Unimportant names—like store names that are irrelevant to the story and there for visual's sake—will be in English.**

**Standard disclaimer applied.**

* * *

The way to Sasuke's hideout was short. Her fear of being caught and re-hypnotized pushed her speed to its all-time high, throwing her ten-mile per minute record out the window. It had taken her all of half an hour to reach the seemingly abandoned pile of sand that was Team Taka's lair. Sakura didn't stop at the "deserted" sand dune. She remembered that there was an uncovered room—a lounge—in the southernmost side of the Sound Palace. Sand kicked up as she hurried to the half-exposed side.

Sure enough, the lounge's windows stared at her, uncovered and unashamed. Remembering the guilty-pleasure that Sasuke's henchmen indulged in within the walls of that room, Sakura huffed and tried to make sure her ears could hear nothing. Dexterously, the rosette opened the top half of the window. Sakura entered the room feet first, accidentally dropping some sand-turned-mud into it. She had a moment of sadness for the expensive rug she had just ruined, then hurried to cover her ears from the harlots' and henchmen's dirty cries. The door, thankfully, was in plain view; Sakura rushed over to it.

An expanse of kaki-colored hallways greeted her. Sakura cussed; she truly did not remember how on earth she was going to get to the wing her mom's room was. "Mama!" Sakura shouted into the endless labyrinth of halls. There was a one-in-a-million chance of Hebia actually hearing her. Then Sakura noticed a charka trail, dull and weeks old, but the same dull purple of her mother's. It was going west. She was more than happy to follow.

Because the Palace was so kuso big, it took a while to get to wherever the trail was going. It turned out that it headed to the dining room. The same dining room in which she had her first decent breakfast with her mother in years. The large teakwood dining table, eight chairs in all, was pale and long. Its color all but melted it into the stonework. A large arc opened it deeper into the west wing; a little door, slim, tall, and almost too small to be seen, opened the dining room to the kitchen. Maids and the like worked in the kitchen, ready and set to take any and every food order that any and everyone asked. Sakura was surprised to see it empty, as it was lunchtime. At least Hebia and Burūsu should be indulging in rice balls and sushi till their hearts' content. It appeared they didn't eat here when Sasuke was gone. Sakura felt a bit disappointed in that; it meant more walking around like a lost puppy gone to find its master.

Of course, Sakura thought as she eyed the slim door to the kitchen, someone could always _tell_ her the way. Sakura gave herself a half-smile, as that was all she could manage at this time, and swung open the door as if it were her own. For all the staff knew, she had as much right to the Sound Palace as any member of Team Taka.

The buzz and bustle of a busy cookhouse rang loud in her ears. The clatter of pots and pans echoed in the stone room. "Senshi-sama wants—" someone shouted, as another yelled, "Get Inuzuka-san his milk—" only to be interrupted by, "It's Uchiha-domo's new teammate!"

Sakura was surprised to be noticed at all, with all the chaos in the making. The rattle died down as everyone stared with worshipping eyes at her. They all bowed. Simultaneously, they all said, "Haruno-sama, welcome." The rosette stared open-mouthed at the gathering of cooks; after three straight minutes, they hadn't moved. Sakura realized that they weren't going to move until she gave the okay. She gave a shocked nod and they all scurried back to their original positions. Except one; she was the tallest of all, her cheeks round with just one too many rice balls. "Haruno-sama," she said respectfully, yet fearfully. Sakura wondered what she had ever done to strike the fear and respect in the woman's eyes. "My name is Moriko*."

"Uh…" Sakura hesitated. "Hi, Moriko-san."

Moriko looked almost shocked to have a suffix on her name. "Haruno-sama, may I ask you a question?"

Confused and a bit frightened, Sakura muttered, "Ask away."

"Is Uchiha-domo expecting lunch? Should we serve him in his room or does he want a large dinner? Is Suigetsu-sama hungry? Is Karin-sama not eating this week? Is Jūgo-sama hungry? Should we hurry in feeding them?" The earnestness in Moriko's voice was almost fear. She looked down over Sakura, yet she spoke as if Sakura may very well be Kami himself in a female incarnation.

Sakura smiled kindly, trying to sooth the stressed woman the way one soothed jittery children. "Don't worry about it," Sakura said, gaining a bit more assurance in herself as she watched that no, she was not being watched. "Sasuke"—Moriko was shocked to hear the man's voice said so hatefully yet lovingly at the same time, just as she was shocked to hear that Sakura did not attach an honorific to the Master's name—"didn't come with me and neither did the rest of Team Taka. It's just me and I'm not staying long."

Moriko gaped at Sakura for a long minute. Such disrespect! Such familiarity! Truly, this girl was going to get herself killed! Finally, she willed herself to stutter, "Yes, Haruno-sama…"

"Can you tell me the way to my mother's room? Hebia?"

Moriko quickly rushed to give the strange girl directions around the vast palace. Sakura dashed off to follow them.

The stone door to her mother's room was wide open. Sakura knocked on the wall.

"Mama?" she asked as her green eyes darted around to find her. The scrape of clothes hangers against a pole came from the closet.

"Nē-sama!" Burūsu's voice rang through the room, extending the a. His stubby little legs had him running into sight; a smile rested on his thin lips. He narrowly escaped tripping over his own feet as he ran straight into Sakura's sturdy legs. His small arms wrapped around one of her legs. Sakura half-smiled at him. This little boy was so different from the one she'd been caring for over the last two days. He was happy, easily distracted, with not a care in the world. He wasn't in danger of Sasuke, like Kuku was; if anything, Sasuke was overprotective of this boy, housing him and Hebia as he did. Sakura bent down to give to boy a kiss on his forehead. "Nē-sama, you're back!"

Sakura nodded. "Burūsu, where's Mama?" she asked. "And why aren't you eating?"

"Mama's getting dressed!" Almost as if to confirm the boy's assessment, the clothes rack scraped again and Hebia called out a loving hello. "Moriko-chan hasn't sent it to us yet."

Sakura nodded to her brother. "Thank you, baby," she said and walked to her mother's closet. Just as suspected, Hebia was just starting to put on her lavender-colored flak jacket. Sakura took a peak at the stuffed closet, shocked to find silks as far as the eye could see and just a few normal clothes. In the back, though almost completely covered by mountains of outfits, was the forest green of Konoha's flak jacket. "Mama, we need to talk," Sakura announced, just as someone knocked on the door.

"What about, sweetheart?" Hebia asked, her "welcome home" not allowed a chance to escape her lips as Sakura's frenzied voice began. She shouted for Moriko's food-servants to come in. The bustle of opening tables and clanging dishes entered. "What's got you so frantic?"

"Mama," Sakura urged, her voice urgent, "its about Sasuke."

Hebia nodded. "Sho*-kun?" the short woman asked, coming out of the closet door's covering. She smiled at a man that was around her own age, perhaps a bit older, and continued, "Sho-kun, can you please take care of Burūsu-kun for me?"

The black-haired male nodded back and smiled as if he had known Hebia for a long time—which, by the familiar suffix that she used, was quite possible. "Sure, Hebia-chan."

Hebia nodded, leading Sakura away to the room Sasuke had given her.

* * *

Sasuke gave a disappointed shake of his head at the obvious track of Sakura's charka. He didn't need to follow it to know where she was going. The trail was headed very obviously to the Sound Palace. The Cursed Seal of Heaven flickered again at the feel of someone following him. "Suigetsu," Sasuke said, more of a call than an actual question. He already knew who was following him; the water ninja didn't bother hiding his charka and that annoyed Sasuke.

"Yeah, boss-man?" the blue-haired nukenin asked rather disrespectfully. He was still angry about Sakura. Sasuke wondered why the jigoku he hadn't sent him halfway across the world.

"Why are you here?" Sasuke asked angrily. Suigetsu was suddenly right next to him. Sasuke hadn't slowed, but Suigetsu had sped. "Go take care of Karin."

"Ew," was Suigetsu's immediate response. It was followed shortly by, "I'm going to help you find Sakura. Well, not find, _obviously_ she's going home, but until you calm down"—he meaningfully eyed the flickering curse seal—"you're going to need a spokesperson. Who better than her best friend?"

Who better than her best friend, indeed. But Naruto was playing on Konoha's side, so Sakura would have to make due with Sasuke. The Uchiha frowned as he ran. At this moment, Sakura would not want to be comforted by him; the thought was new in his mind. He'd always thought that, no matter how tough Sakura got, she would always be worried about his well-being. But now he questioned his own mind. The way she had said his name, so hatefully and disappointedly, had him thinking otherwise. Nothing he did would have Sakura hating him. The note from Karin those long days ago—the one about Sakura cry, shouting his name in pain—proved it. But Sakura had seemed pretty intent on hate, on loathing, on abhorrence. The thought that Sakura—Haruno Sakura—did not want him near her hurt him.

The Cursed Seal of Heaven reacted to that hurt; it flamed again, getting farther across his body than it had prior before Sasuke controlled it again.

"Why do you think she's going home?" Suigetsu asked, ignoring the flicker of the curse seal.

Sasuke scowled, speeding up. He had to get to her before she left the Sound Palace again. Because, yes, Sakura was going home, but _whose_ home? The deserted desert in which his castle resided was just in sight. What had she remembered?

* * *

Sakura angrily sat on her bed as her mother asked what had happened. "He hypnotized me, Mama!" Sakura growled. "He made me forget everything! He made me want to kill Naruto! I'm going home, Mama!" Her words may have sounded like a little girl's rant, but her tone was that of a woman scorned.

"Wait," Hebia said, drinking in the words. "He made you want to kill…your best friend?"

Tears started to roll down Sakura's porcelain cheeks in fat drops at the thoughts that were coursing through her mind. She wanted to hate him, to loath him with a fury to match her hurt, but her heart fell apart at the thought. Her ridged heart beat unevenly as she tried to force herself to hate. She could almost feel the oncoming heart attack; she swallowed. "And he drew me into his band of murders." Her voice cracked and she fell backwards onto the waiting bed, the comfortable feathers catching her. "Mama, I want to go _home_," she whimpered, curling in on herself. Depression was sinking back in, etching itself into her bones. When was the last time she had felt like this? Her heart gave an uneven _ga-lump_ as she remembered that, since Sasuke had reappeared to her, she had not felt at all miserable. The felling now felt alien after being absent for so long. The wetness of her tears trailed tracks over the bridge of her nose and down onto the sheets of the bed. "Come with me, Okā-san*, please," she pleaded sleepily.

Hebia's bright pink lips turned down into a sad frown. She sat down on the bed next to her daughter. Her elegant fingers traced a pattern from the crown of Sakura's pink head to the back of her ear as she hummed a pretty little lullaby. "Sakura, Sakura," Hebia said, singing the lullaby while calling her daughter. "Take a nap," she said, no longer singing, "sleep on it." Then she continued to croon, "_Sakura, Sakura…April brings Sakura…Up to the clear blue sky background, Sigh softly petal-like fog…_"

The rest was lost as the haze of sleep overtook the newly depressed Sakura.

* * *

**[—Dreams—]**

* * *

_Sasuke's black eyes twinkled with the reflection of blood shining in the sun. He glanced down at the Kusanagi. An uncaring frown overtook his features as he glared down at the layers of blood that now dirtied his sword. With a sharp flick of his wrist, the blood splashed off the Sword of Kusanagi, as if fearful of the Uchiha. At this, he smirked, the reflection of blood making his eyes twinkle like that of a child's when he gets a present. He was completely clean, free of blood from the innocents he had just murdered. The blood shed by these poor strangers didn't affect him. He regretted none of the taken lives, Sakura noticed. Sasuke glanced up to the trees above him. "Take care of this, Suigetsu," he called._

_Down came flying the bluish-haired water ninja. He walked around as if he knew what to do as he glanced at the dead bodies._

_Sasuke looked up from the carcasses to Sakura. His smirk transformed into a frown as he appraised her. "You are a mess," he noted. It was then that Sakura became aware of her state of dress. A bleeding scratch marred her cheek; a pattern of rips decorated her newly bought green shorts; her mesh-shirt, exposed by the unzipped and unbuttoned leather jacket, had chinks; her beautiful jacket was adorned with splashes of blood. The bright color of red life stood out sharply against the brownish-red of her coat. She realized that she looked as if she had been attacked by many a men and battled them off ten at a time. Her grip on the tantō she now realized she held loosened. She hadn't been _attacked_, because she was the one who had _assaulted_ them. "You need new clothes," he said simply. "We'll stop in the next town."_

_Sakura felt herself shake and quiver as if she was coming out of a trance. She watched Sasuke's onyx eyes with care. Then they turned red, their attention fixated only on Sakura's willow orbs. Sakura felt the prickling of forming tears as she realized: most of this had not been caused by Sasuke, but her hand, the same hand that had been trained to heal was the same hand that had killed almost two dozen travelers. Sakura felt herself falling into the familiar daze of Sasuke's Sharingan. In the daze, she felt happier but she felt colder, as if he had changed something inside her. Part of her, however, fought the daze, choosing instead justice. And, as she watched Sasuke's softer red eyes, as if a true care was hidden somewhere within his soulless body, Sakura did not know what to think. Here he was, offering to buy her clothes, which would no doubt be expensive if Sasuke's tastes were any indication. Yet, here he was, sidestepping corpses and flicking his wrists to get rid of the blood on him as if the blood of twenty-four men meant nothing to him. Here he was, being so sweet and so cruel._

_Sakura found that she didn't know what to think._

_And then the Sharingan__'s tomoe began to spin. Sakura felt her shaking still and her grip on her small katana tighten. On the inside, Sakura felt herself get cold and uncaring. She felt herself smirk as she held the tantō to her lips. She felt her tongue drag out from her mouth and anchor to the bloodied sliver blade. Her tongue was covered in the life fluids of her victims, washing her tool from its handle to its tip of the bloodshed of the voyagers, tasting the rusty taste of blood._

_On the inside, Sakura felt her inner eyes widening as they overflowed with terrified tears. She wanted to stop this __lunacy; she wanted to call out for everyone to stop the madness. Sakura felt herself swallow and felt the thick blood travel down her esophagus. She found that she enjoyed it, in a sadistic way, and that scared her far worse than the two-dozen bodies splayed out before her. She wanted to stop herself, to spit up the fluid of the lives she had just taken. But her own body was no longer in her control. _

_On the inside, she wanted to heal each and every body that bled endlessly because of her and because of Sasuke. She wanted to use her hands for good. She wanted to run away from Sasuke and his hypnotizing eyes. On the inside, she hated herself. On the inside, she wanted so badly to hate Sasuke too. On the inside, she found that that was impossible. On the inside, she wanted to cry. On the inside, she wanted to save everyone and everything to every be hurt. On the inside, she didn't want death to be a factor of her life. _

_However, all of that was on the inside._

_Outside, she fed on deaths. Outside, deaths made her stronger. Outside, she enjoyed causing death. Outside, she felt good about herself. Outside, she was proud of Sasuke. Outside, Sasuke's Sharingan provided safe happiness. Outside, she was a ruthless killer. Outside, she followed Sasuke like a merciless and loyal pup._

* * *

**[—Dreams—]**

* * *

Sakura woke up to the sound of her own shouts. Tears were tracking a trail from her tear ducts over the ridge of her nose and across her cheek and onto the mattress. She didn't know whether she had just started cry as she woke, or if they were leftover tears from when she went to sleep, or if she had been crying during her dream. She didn't care. The diamonds of water were barely registered in her mind. Her mind was focused on breathing. She tried to calm it, but it remained ragged and uneven. Her body was still reacting to the effects of the traumatizing dream. Her heart was beating at a rate too fast; it was as if the organ was trying to gallop right out of her chest. Her jade eyes were wide with fear.

Sakura sat up, trying desperately to control her shaking body. She found it odd when she could see through the barrage of tears and into the vanity mirror positioned right in front of the bed. It was a ghastly sight to see her shaking body, uneven breathing, and river of tears in the mirror. Still, the sight was better than the memory of her dream, so she focused on parts of her body in the mirror, forcing them to quit their shaking. _It was just a dream, just a dream, _she reminded herself silently in her mind. Feeling accomplished when her heart rate slowed, Sakura continued at it. Her breathing slowed and soon after her body stopped shaking.

Sakura dragged her feet off the soft bed and walked to the dresser that stared at her. Using the sleeve of her leather jacket—the one that had been covered in strangers' blood in her nightmare—she washed out any and all trace of tears on her cheekbones. Her cheeks still had the flush that tears could only bring. But her most important worry, the one she left to check last, was how puffy her eyes were. She took a long look at them. And when they didn't go back to normal, she blinked. Again. And again.

Was she dreaming it? Her jaw fell slack. No, she wasn't dreaming up the pure white of her eyes. Not even her irises were tinged with the green she expected in her eyes. Instead, he could see red veins on the edge of the white as her eyes connected with the rest of her body. The only other color she saw in her eyes was a dark, barely-there purple dot—a dot that served as her pupil, so dark and violet.

Sakura gasped. What terrible accident had she had? The only awful thing that had happened was possibly that dream. A dream that scared her more than all the ninja she had ever faced, all the deaths she had ever seen at the hospital, and all the life-or-death situations that anyone could ever stomach put together. To not be able to control herself, to be happy to be under Sasuke's hypnotism, no matter what he made her do, to question the way she saw Sasuke…

She felt her eyes throb and the veins on the outskirts of the white of her eyeballs dig deeper into her eyes, coming closer to the purple dot. Sakura swallowed. Sakura stared at her eyes in the mirror, engaging in a staring contest with herself. Timidly, she lifted her finger to her eyes, pulling down the skin surrounding her eyes. "Hey, um, Mama!" she called loudly.

* * *

Sasuke stormed into the Sound Palace, sensing Sakura's charka through the lounge. He ignored it as it passed through the kitchen, opting for the trail that exited from it. He continued to do this, and he ended up in the room he had given Sakura.

What was she doing? Why wasn't she gathering her things in a rush and trying to leave as fast as she could, like the Sakura he knew? Why, instead, was she watching her eyes in the mirror, looking frightened?

Sasuke stopped at the doorway, glaring at Suigetsu, who looked like he was about to charge in. Suigetsu humbled a bit at the sight of his boss's soulless glare. Sasuke watched Sakura carefully, taking in her disheveled pink hair and her creased outfit. Her bed was messy and the white sheets were dirtied with mud. Taking a closer look, Sasuke realized that she must've been sleeping. He watched as Sakura tentatively lifted her slender fingers to her eyes. "Hey," Sakura shouted at the door, not moving to look. Sasuke thought he was found out, until the rosette called again, "Um…Mama!"

Sasuke went in then, sending a glare at Suigetsu that told him to go away. Of course, Suigetsu ignored him and just watched from a safe distance. Sasuke made sure his footsteps made noise. "Hebia's busy," he said, even though he had no idea what his ex-mentor's sister was doing.

Sakura jumped at the sound of his voice and turned to him. Sasuke's emotionless ebony eyes widened at the sight of her white eyes. Red veins were connecting to the purple of her pupil in a circular pattern. Sasuke knew what he was looking at the second he laid eyes on it.

The Tāru, the Senshi's kekki genkai.

* * *

Luisanna gulped into the pouring rain. Her hair matted to her scalp and she held her son close to her as she ran to her house. _Their_ house, Luisanna corrected herself, because no matter if Itachi was dead, she would always honor his memory. She promised herself that her house would always be theirs. When he had first come here, Luisanna remembered him telling her, he had lived in a motel; and then he and Kisame had opted for a small two-bedroom house. Well, now that she thought about it, Luisanna would have to say that he, Kisame, and herself had opted for a house. She remembered fighting with Itachi about the type of house he was going to buy, and in the end she spent most of her time—when she wasn't working or studying—at the house, doing sinful things in broad daylight and scarring poor insecure swordsman for life. When Itachi…died—she so badly wanted to refer to his death as murder, but she knew that Itachi would have chastened her and made her fix her words—Kisame had left DenkiMachi and told his partner's girlfriend that the house was fully-paid and hers.

If she could not have Itachi—her sweet, bad-boy 'Tachi—she so badly wished to be within Kisame's protection. In the years that she had been with Itachi, she had started to think of the fight-loving shark-man as some kind of older brother. When Fugaku was born, the shark-man had become that much nicer. Now, if Itachi couldn't save her, she at least wanted Kisame to protect Fugaku from his uncle. She wanted Itachi now more than ever, but if Kisame would come, it would help. Kisame's protection would bring on wonderful memories about Itachi's protectiveness.

Luisanna dashed into her house, ready to take shelter in her room. It was a room shrouded in Itachi's presence, and Luisanna took great comfort in that. She hadn't changed a thing in the one room. She held her baby close as she pulled the blanket over them. Fugaku had slept through it all. And now, now that they were safe from his uncle's evil, Luisanna allowed herself to truly cry—not out of anger or sadness, but out of relief. She had saved her boy from Sasuke's clutches.

* * *

Kakashi scowled at the barren wasteland that was the Sound. People—men, mostly—walked around with slashes on their forehead protectors. They had a one-in-a-million chance that he had found the right village. Still, the people here had to know something about their leader.

Kakashi had made sure that they had removed their forehead protectors before they even entered the outskirts of the Sound. The people wouldn't tell them anything if they looked like enemy ninja, so Kakashi had made the team leave their gear behind. Kakashi relied on his facemask and bangs to keep his eye hidden. No one would recognize them without their Konoha symbols.

Naruto grinned cheekily at the snake slithering alongside him. He remembered that Sakura's mom used to either walk beside the snake or she would keep Lerō around her waist like a belt. A plan was decided on before they had arrived. He and Lerō—because Lerō only trusted the blonde and didn't very much like any of the people that now surrounded him—would go up to a weak-looking nuke and ask about Sasuke. Someone was bound to let something out. The team would go on that.

Kiba fearfully stayed away from the freaky snake. Shikamaru rolled his eyes at the tracker and walked teasingly close to the slithering snake.

"Yo," Kakashi called back to his team. They snapped to attention, except for Naruto who really couldn't care less as long as it got Sasuke back. The silver-haired copy-nin pointed at some clumsy-looking fellow that made Kakashi wonder how in the world he got to be a ninja, let alone a nukenin. "Naruto, go."

Naruto nodded at his cue and patted the long boa constrictor's head. "Hey, dude!" he called out when he was near the targeted man. "Do you know where I can find the boss-man? I think his snake got lost," he said, stabbing a thumb in the yellow snake's direction. "I think it likes me." To back up his point, Lerō's thin tongue doggishly licked Naruto's outstretched arm. Naruto was sure that Lerō could talk, just like every other ninja snake, which explained why he understood and followed Kakashi's plan to the word, he just wondered why the yellow snake _wouldn't_.

The brown-haired man frowned. He wondered, briefly, why someone as happy as this blonde would betray his village. "No," he said, watching the three men that watched the blonde from afar. Clumsily, the nukenin started to walk away.

"Hey, dude, wait!" Naruto called, running to catch up with the man. "Sasuke…-sama"—Naruto hesitated in adding the suffix, unused to it—"called a friend of mine and that friend summoned me. Sasuke-sama needs to find something on Konoha and I can't do that if I can't find Sasuke-sama."

The brown-haired nukenin nodded. "Sorry," he told the blonde. "Sasuke-sama keeps his hideout hidden. You could spend thirty lifetimes looking and you still wouldn't find it. You'd be lucky if you _ever _find it. I hear even Sasuke-sama's henchmen have trouble finding it."

Naruto was honestly saddened by the news. "Well, imaimashii*," he growled. "I guess I'll be seeing you." He outstretched his arm to the snake and he glided up to rest on the blonde's neck. With a "thankful" smile, Naruto walked away.

* * *

**Moriko—_Japanese girls' name meaning "child of the forest"_**

**Sho—_Japanese boys' name meaning "to fly"_**

**Okā-san—_the formal way to say "mother"_**

**Imaimashii—_damn_**

**There is a lullaby named "Sakura, Sakura (Cherry Blossoms)"**

**OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD! CHAPTER 30! DAH! SO MUCH HAPPINESS! I feel accomplished. This story is not _even close_ to being done, but the 30-chappie-milestone! OH MY GOD!**

**Okay, because I'm greedy, I'm going to ask something of you guys. Don't refuse me, please! Alright, to make my story even more popular, I want one of you—if you're an artist, don't do anything you don't want to—to make fanart off of this. You can choose any moment in the last 30 chapters of this story and even the story _Love _(which none of you have yet read, have you?). But anyway, can you _please_ make fanart and PM or review the link to me on here or on deviantART (where I am named SasuSakuZutara). And don't leave any flames about how "I'm begging for whatever," because it's my birthday in a month, so I deserve it! August 24th, baby! But still, off topic—fanart. Please. Thank you.**


	31. Chapter 31

**The only Japanese will be names and cuss words (unless I can't find them). And they still will have the asterisks (*) and translations in at the bottom. If they're not here, they're in a previous chapter. Unimportant names—like store names that are irrelevant to the story and there for visual's sake—will be in English.**

**Standard disclaimer applied.**

* * *

Luisanna held her sleeping boy, tears running down her eyes in her sleep. Her heart clinched, skipping beats as it pumped blood through her body. Her entire expression was one of happiness mixed with pain. Because her father's son was talking to her—yes, it was his voice, the ivory folds of his deliciously comforting voice—but he would soon be gone, dead once more. Even her sleeping mind knew it. Her black eyebrows were pulled together, wrinkling in agony, but there was a smile on her crying face. Itachi was talking to her—reciting his favorite poem.

"_It was many and many a year ago, In a kingdom by the sea, That a maiden there lived whom you may know__By the name of Annabel Lee; And this maiden she lived with no other thought Than to love and be loved by me,_" he was saying. It felt as if he were rocking her, like a child in need of comfort. "_I was a child and she was a child, __In this kingdom by the sea; __But we loved with a love that was more than love—I and my Annabel Lee;__With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven__Coveted her and me._" But she knew, in her subconscious, that no one was singing her that poem, that no one was rocking her. That she was just in need of the comfort that his presence always provided, and that her mind was giving it. Still, she hugged the dream to her, not wanting to let go of his ivory-covered voice.

"_And this was the reason that, long ago, __In this kingdom by the sea, __A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling__My beautiful Annabel Lee; __So that her highborn kinsman came __And bore her away from me, __To shut her up in a sepulcher __In this kingdom by the sea._" But she knew it wasn't him, it wasn't Itachi, long dead. It wasn't him. But it was so comforting. So wonderful to hear his voice.

"_The angels, not half so happy in heaven, __Went envying her and me— Yes!—that was the reason (as all men know,__In this kingdom by the sea) __That the wind came out of the cloud by night, __Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee._" What a morbid poem to be holding such comfort.

"_But our love it was stronger by far than the love __Of those who were older than we— Of many far wiser than we— And neither the angels in heaven above, Nor the demons down under the sea, __Can ever dissever my __soul __from the soul __Of the beautiful Annabel Lee._" So morose, so lovely, to be holding such comfort. What a beautiful comfort—what a revolting console. Because of course, it would be the one to comfort _her_ of all people—of course this beautifully morbid poem would comfort a woman who found entertainment in the morbid. Of course it would comfort the one who thought that fights were entertaining—so long as no one got hurt. Of course it would comfort the woman who collected swards and knives. Of course this morbidly beautiful poem would comfort the girl who fancied herself a fighter. Of course. What a predictable thing.

But, oh, what a comforting thing. To be comforted by a morbidly beautiful poem sang to her by a beautifully morbid man.

"_For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams __Of the beautiful Annabel Lee; __And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes __Of the beautiful Annabel Lee; __And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side__Of my darling—my darling—my life and my bride, __In the sepulcher there by the sea, __In her tomb by the sounding sea._"

What a morbid thing to comfort her. But comfort her it did. And, as she lay there with her son as she cried in comforted agony, she held her son tighter. She felt better—because of course Itachi would be there to protect them beyond the grave. Because _of course_.

* * *

Sakura watched Sasuke carefully. What would he do now? She felt the corners of her eyes tightened and the veins in her eyes throbbed. Sasuke was _here_, looking for her. Of course, it was just so she wouldn't give away his hideout—but her heart didn't believe what her mind was telling her. Sasuke was _here_ because he was worried about her, because he wanted to see if she was okay. Sakura was about to scoff at her own ideas, until she saw Sasuke's beautiful black eyes. If she didn't know better, she'd say there wasn't anything different about them. But she did know better—she knew how to read the soul behind those onyx eyes. And what stared at her from those beautiful eyes had her throwing her hands around his neck and digging her face into his chest, tears running down her face once more.

Sasuke's arms wrapped instinctively around her little waist, holding her closer. The Tāru was a lot like the Sharingan in that it only came around when something really bad happened. Had what he done hurt her that much? Had his fixing her mind to be on his side really scarred her that badly? He didn't even want to hear the answer to his own question—it was right in front of him, hugging him for comfort. _He_ was the cause of her pain; _he_ made the tears running down her cheeks. Those beautiful diamonds running down her face were _his_ fault. His entire fault, all of it.

His muscled arms tensed around her little waist, holding her tighter. Sasuke could feel the salty wetness swim down her cheeks and seep through his shirt. He could feel them, and he didn't like it—at all. He took a deep breath—here he was _comforting _someone, but that someone was Sakura and it made everything easier—and rested a hand on her head, weaving his fingers through her hair. It was so soft, so bright and beautiful. He did his best to sooth her, but his movements were rocky; he was new at this.

The fact that Sasuke was at least _trying_ made Sakura hug herself tighter to him. This was the last hug from him she'd ever get—because she was going _home_, and she was going to bring him back, and he would hate her for it. She wanted to savor it, to hold on to it as long as she could. She was going home, and she couldn't get this—couldn't get his warmth, his care, his worry—at home. But…where was home? The fact that she didn't know anymore made a low sob escape her throat, and Sasuke held her tighter, petting her head. She didn't know where _home_ was. She was raised in Konoha, with Naruto and Kakashi and Robāto and Ino and Shikamaru and Sai and…and…that wasn't home. She had to pretend in Konoha. She had to pretend she wasn't dying on the inside, that she was happy, that she didn't miss her genin days with ever fiber of her body. She had spent the last week with Team Taka, with Sasuke and Suigetsu and Karin and Jūgo and Luisanna and Fugaku. She hadn't needed to pretend. She hadn't felt miserable. She felt happy, even giddy, when she was with them. Even with _Karin_. Because it reminded her of her genin days—Karin as Ino, Suigetsu as Naruto, Jūgo as Kakashi, Sasuke as Sasuke, her as herself, and then the lovable add-ins.

As much as she hated to admit it, she _enjoyed_ her fights with Karin. It reminded her of her fights with Ino, back when she was little, over Sasuke. And she loved Suigetsu's idiocy; it reminded her of Naruto. And Jūgo's silence reminded her of Kakashi when he was annoyed. And the banter just made her feel happy, blissfully unaware of anything and everything that was happening.

She remembered wishing, as she cried that one night long ago when she'd first met "Mazenta" and "Jonasan," that she could be that blithe little girl she was back in her genin days. She remembered thinking that she would give anything up just to be that kid again. And here she was, getting her wish granted in a weird, dark, strange way. What a bizarre twist of fate. It wasn't as pleasing as she thought it would be; because now, she had to choose. Naruto and Kakashi and Sai and all her friends that trusted her and loved her and thought that nothing was wrong—or Sasuke and Suigetsu and Karin and Jūgo and all the people she'd finally found and met that cared about her, that knew in an instant if something was wrong, that knew just how to cheer her? Konoha's happiness or her own?

She wanted to go _home_. But she _was_ home, and that scared her. She missed Naruto and Kakashi and Sai and Ino, but…she was _happy_ here. She felt at home.

Sakura let out a heartbreaking sob into the cloth of Sasuke's black shirt, tightening her grip on his neck to a death hold. "Sasuke-kun, I want _home_," she muttered. She felt too drained to _not_ add the honorific. "I want _home_."

Sasuke swallowed; he felt his arms go tighter around Sakura's waist. How could he refuse her when she was crying like this? How could he tell her no when she asked so honestly, so vulnerably? He _couldn't_. His heart clenched at the idea of Sakura leaving him. But she wasn't happy here; she was asking to go home. "Tomorrow," he promised, whispering it lowly into her messy hair. "Tomorrow, I'll take you to Konoha." He didn't even care that if he was anywhere within a ten-mile radius he'd get taken to the Hokage and killed. He'd take her home himself and at least say a proper goodbye, even if he was killed. Seikō the fact that he'd be killed; seikō it all.

Sakura tightened her hold on Sasuke, her tears slowing. "I…" she whispered lowly. She pulled away; a dark flush covered her cheek. She'd invaded Uchiha Sasuke's personal space and he'd let her. Her eyes were their usual bright, piercing green. There was a shy frown on her face as she said, "I don't want to go to Konoha…" When Sasuke's dark onyx eyes stared at her, Sakura went on, "I want to be _home_, Sasuke. I want you to make Karin and Jūgo and"—she was about to add Suigetsu, but she saw him watching her from behind Sasuke and gave him a small smile, wondering how he had stayed still through all that had just happened—"An-chan and Kuku-kun come here and I want to stay here and…and… And I'm asking for too much."

Sasuke's unfreezing heart unclenched. She wanted to _stay_. A smirk—an honest one, the one that he used to smirk when he was twelve—lifted his lips and suddenly Sakura was in his arms again. "No, you aren't," he said simply, digging his nose into Sakura's hair. And then he let go, face composed again, smirk gone. There was a soft smile on Sakura's face. "Suigetsu, get them," Sasuke announced. Before Sasuke could even turn around, Suigetsu was gone.

* * *

Kakashi stared emptily ahead, trying hard to not let anyone see his Sharingan eye. He may have an _awesome_ sliver mane, but most of the time it had the stubbornness to stay high above his head. He knew it looked like he had bed-head most of the time—he also knew it worked for him. But right now he didn't have the time to be going on about his good looks. Right now, he was glaring ahead at the rain that was pelting the dirt before him. Of course it had to rain in…in…where _were_ they? They were in the Sound of course, but what was this place named?

Who cared? Sasuke wasn't here anyway. There was no need to know the place's name.

"We should go home already," Kiba muttered, glaring up at the heavens. Gray clouds blanketed the skies. A storm was on its way. Small cracks of lightning were breaking the through the gray blanket above; soon thunder would sound and they'd have no place for shelter. "Or at least find cover."

Naruto took off his jacket and rung it out in his hands, pretending it was soaked through. "Yeah, Kakashi-sensei! Let's find shelter—we're going to get ourselves sick," he complained. He may be foolhardy, but he knew when the weather was against him; they'd be no good if they were sick. He pulled the orange-and-black jacket over his head and held it up with his arms, leaving himself in only in his black mesh undershirt. The First Hokage's teal necklace hung loosely around his neck. His sunny-day-sky-blue eyes peered through the cover of his jacket and up to the sky. The sky hadn't gotten any better in the last ten seconds.

Shikamaru sighed his lazy sigh and muttered, "Troublesome teammates," in a way that showed them that he obviously agreed.

Kakashi sighed. He knew they were right. He wanted to get home too. He wanted to get to his warm bed and home cooked meals and he wanted to sleep till dusk. But Sakura was in Konoha and Sasuke was out there. And Sakura needed to be kept away from him, as the last Senshi, because she could very likely go with him willingly. And, Kami imaimashii it, Kakashi wanted to get to Sasuke before he got to her. "We'll wait for a message," he said, and started walking. "Let's go for shelter."

* * *

Karin giggled cheerfully, still high off the fact that Sakura wasn't here. _No more Sakura, no more Sakura, no more Sakura,_ she kept singing in her mind. Skipping, she went to the kitchen; berries were in the fridge. She popped a cherry into her mouth and chewed. Sakura wasn't here. Sakura wasn't her to ruin her mood. Sakura wasn't here for her to fight with. Sakura wasn't here to steal Sasuke—

Seikō. Sasuke was _with_ her. Sasuke was tracking her to bring her back. Sasuke was with her right now, and Kami knew what that little pink-haired vixen could be doing. But Sasuke couldn't be weak enough to go along with it—he was _Uchiha _kuso _Sasuke_. She'd never even seen him look at a woman, let alone _flirt_. Oh but that vixen could do anything, couldn't she? She'd gotten Suigetsu to trail along at her side like a lovesick pup in less than a day. She'd kissed Sasuke's cheek. Of course, Karin had kissed his lips…his beautiful, wonderful, soft lips…that were her right, of course.

"Hey, Jūgo!" she called. Jūgo was resting on the bed, watching a caterpillar on the window as it crawled. He was in the archway of the kitchen once she'd called him. "How long have they been gone?" Her voice was back at its moodiest.

"An hour," he said lowly. The rain was dragging his eyes down, the soft patting of raindrops singing a beautiful lullaby. _Pit…pat…pit…pit…pat…_

Karin let out a string of low profanities and stuffed another cherry in her mouth. Where _was_ he? Either she was long gone or they should be back by now. No matter which way it went, they should be back. Sakura should be here, ruining her life again. Sasuke should be here, letting it happen. And they should all be together, going through with whatever plan Sasuke needed that wench for. Suigetsu should be back too, swooning over that pink-haired whore and bothering her to no end. And they should all be together in the rainy night. Team Taka should be together, or at least in _contact_.

Where the jigoku _were_ they?

* * *

Handcuffs dug into the skin of his wrists. Robāto growled again, leaning against the wall of the cold cell. Here he was again, in his jail cell, cold and uncomfortable without having seen his daughter _once_. He'd been sentenced without her presence. Imprisoned without her presence. He would probably be _killed_ without her presence. Where was that ungrateful mesu? Where could she be? Had she…had she been _lost_ like her mother?

_You want your only child dead…?_

Suddenly, the redhead saw his daughter's pretty pink face—pale and unmoving, horror the only color on her inert face. Her eyes were open, but they weren't her green—they were a grayish green that stared emptily ahead, morbidly horrible. Through her unmoving lips, Robāto could hear her twelve-year-old voice: _Why, Daddy, why?_ And then the morbid picture turned into those same, atrocious yellow eyes staring at him; they were hateful and horrible, loath to see him but there nonetheless. As if he had something to do. And swiftly Robāto knew who had been talking to him, who had been using his child's voice. _'Why, Daddy?' Doesn't it just burn your heart—to know that her death will be your entire fault?_

Tears rolled down his blue eyes. He felt himself mutter, "Not my fault. Not dead. No."

_Oh, yes,_ those eyes said, dragging around the S. _Yes, her death will be your own fault. And her children's death. And her children's children's death. All _your_ fault. _

"Not dead. Not _dead_," Robāto hissed allowed. All he could see now was the utter blackness of sleep, protruded by those beautifully horrid yellow eyes. He knew he was sleeping now—he might have been sleeping before, when he was wondering about his mesu of a daughter. He knew he was mumbling in his sleep.

_Your entire fault, Robī, remember. When she dies, she'll be thinking about your mistakes with her—your abuse. And she'll be thinking, 'Why, Daddy, why?' You'd better repent, and _soon_. Thank Kami she won't die for long years from now._

And throughout it all, throughout that horrible dream, Robāto kept muttering in his sleep, "Not dead. _No_."

* * *

"Sasuke?" Sakura asked, wondering where the jigoku he was leading her. They weaved through a few more halls. The rosette smiled when she realized where they were going. His room. "What're we going to do?"

Tears still coated her cheeks, but they were long dried. Her pink hair was disheveled and her eyes were still as green as spring grass. The cream-colored walls were dusty and dirty, covered in age-old sand. The door rumbled open and the darkness of his room engulfed them. Sasuke turned on a light. There was little difference; everything was still black. Details entered the stark blackness of the fancy room. The black dresser came into view on the left side of the room, the inky-colored four-poster bed in the center, and the bedside table as dark as a moonless midnight. Sakura noticed that there was a little bookshelf right near the door. Instantly, she walked over to it, wondering why Sasuke would ever need a _bookshelf_ in his line of work. There were only two books on it: a photo album with a little picture of his family on it—Itachi holding what looked to be a baby Sasuke in his arms, Fugaku with a hand strongly on his eldest son's shoulders, Mikoto looking happily at the camera as she leaned into her husband's shoulder—and a undecorated white book with the words _Bloodline Limits Almost Lost to Life_ on it.

Curious, Sakura grabbed it and headed to sit on Sasuke's bed, not waiting for him to follow. But of course, follow he did, sitting himself next to her and pulling the book from her hands. He thumbed through the pages, stopping briefly to see if it was the one he wanted—Sakura saw this and sucked in a soft gasp at some of the kekkei genkai she saw—and stopped at the Tāru. "Did your mother tell you much about this?" he asked monotonously, sounding dangerously like a teacher. Sakura couldn't help but think that it worked with him just a little _too_ well.

"Not much other than the fact that it could kill someone by singing," she said, yanking the book back from her friend's hands and reading the article aloud. "_The Tāru was almost lost because of the inbreeding the family it belonged to did. There are still a few who receive it, thanks to the Senshi's realizing how dangerous this was to their offspring. This kekkei genkai has amazing benefits. It can stand up to the Sharingan without being dragged under its hypnotizing effects_." Sakura cracked a smile at the idea of never being brainwashed again and Sasuke frowned lightly. "_The Tāru can contact the World—or, as most know it, the dead—_"

Sakura stopped, rereading that last part over and over again in her mind. She could contact the _dead_? She could talk to Uncle Oreo! She could contact Itachi for Sasuke and Luisanna and Fugaku! She could talk to her grandparents and great-grandparents and ancestors and ask them what the seikō they were thinking when they _inbred_.

The rosette swallowed and continued, "_—Sing someone to death and hypnotize._" Sakura smiled, said, "That's useful," and started reading again. "_Not much else is known about the Tāru because nothing no one recorded much else before it started to die. It skips a generation, if the people do get it at all. The Tāru is known to mingle with other bloodline limits; if a Tāru wielder has children with another kekkei genkai wielder, it will either make a stronger bloodline limit—depending on which is the overriding technique limit—or the child will get both—_" Sakura stopped herself, finding this information interesting. "Hey, Sasuke, isn't that fascinating? If I marry Neji, our grandkids will have both!" She'd wanted to say, _if I marry you_, but she didn't want to discomfort him.

Sasuke could hear the soft hesitance, and smirked smugly. He tugged her arm, smirking at her; with a blush, Sakura smiled and leaned into him. He didn't flinch away, and that made her smile wider. She kept a small distance between them, but whenever she moved she could feel the warmth of his arm against her own, its flesh exposed by the sleeveless black shirt, and it sent shocks up her body. She felt comfortable near him. She looked back down to the book, seeing a picture of her kekkei genkai and nothing else.

"Sasuke?" she asked, worrying whether or not she was invading his space. "Can I lay down? I mean, seriously, my back is killing me."

Sasuke let out a soft chuckle and lay back, giving Sakura the go-ahead. She lay on the bed, blushing. It smelled so much like Sasuke…so musk and wonderful. Sakura felt a glare at her and, thinking she was too close, she backed away, only for the glare to intensify. Sasuke pulled her arm and she smiled, pulling herself closer. There was enough room to slip in a magazine, but she could still feel his warmth and smell his scent. A scarlet blush covered her cheeks and she grinned. The rain sang outside. _Pit, pit, pit…pat, pit…_ It dragged her eyes down.

_Pit, pit, pit…pat, pit…pat, pat, pit, pit, pit…_

And she was sleeping again, Sasuke's warmth terribly close, comforting her.

* * *

**I was planning to make this longer, but I figured you guy were waiting long enough. I tried to put in a lot of SasuSaku without A) ruining the plot, and B) going OOC. I may have failed, but…**

**So…it's my birthday next week! Yes! The big ** (if you want to know my age, you better do it the old fashioned why and be my friend because otherwise, you're going to think I'm weird. Which I am, but still. Or you can guess. I'm younger than 18. There's your hint. NO, KillerMay, you cannot guess! You already know).**

**Review!**


	32. Chapter 32

**The only Japanese will be names and cuss words (unless I can't find them). And they still will have the asterisks (*) and translations in at the bottom. If they're not here, they're in a previous chapter. Unimportant names—like store names that are irrelevant to the story and there for visual's sake—will be in English.**

**No, I am not sixteen. It'll take me a good few years to get **_**that**_** old. Lower. If you guess correctly, I guarantee you that you will be surprised that someone my age wrote something like this.**

**Yarō—**_**asshole**_

**Cherushī—**_**Chelsea**_

**Chikushō—**_**damnit**_

**Okotte—**_**pissed**_

**Kuso—**_**fucking**_

**Seikō—**_**fuck**_

**Orenji—**_**Orange**_

**Mazenta—**_**Magenta**_

**Jonasan—**_**Jonathan**_

**Mesu—**_**bitch**_

**Tawagato—**_**shit**_

**Shiri—**_**ass**_

**Kami—**_**god**_

**Jigoku—**_**hell**_

**Gomi—**_**crap**_

**Robāto—**_**Robert**_

**Hebia—**_**snake, with an A to make it a name, pronounced he-buy-ah**_

**Senshi—**_**warrior**_

**Tāru—**_**turl**_

**Burūsu—**_**Bruce**_

**Te—**_**manus (another word for "fang," which is what Kiba's name means)**_

**Kami—**_**God**_

**Akuma—**_**Devil**_

**Nee-sama—**_**short for Onee-sama, or sister**_

**Onigiri—second to tomatoes, one of Sasuke's favorite foods. It means,**** "rice ball."**

**DenkiMachi—**_**electric (denki) town (machi) **_

**Warui—**_**badass**_

**Baka—**_**idiot (if you don't know that, I suggest you relearn Naruto)**_

**Imawashii—**_**damn(ed)**_

**Kongō Tanoshii—**_**Mixed (Kongō) Fun (Tannoshii)**_

**Cha Ha—**_**Tea (cha) Leaves (ha)**_

**Luisanna—**_**My godbro's name is Luis, and we were singing something (When I Grow Up, by the Pussy Cat Dolls) and he sang the lyrics wrong. Instead of "groupies" he said "boobies" so I started making fun of him. I started calling him Luisanna, because he wanted to have boobies and is a guy, and thus the name. He's my bestest friend. I thought I'd honor his living awesomeness with this one thing.**_

**Kudaranai—**_**shitty**_

**Iesu—**_**Jesus**_

**Standard disclaimer applied.**

**I tried to be humorous, because I think this story needs at least two laughs. I probably failed, but hey!**

* * *

Suigetsu was confused. So very, very confused. What he had just seen added to that confusion. He had seen Sakura _ask_ to stay—she had referred to the Sound as _home_. He had seen her say that she didn't _want_ to go back. So…what was the right thing to do? He had promised himself that one way or another, he'd take Sakura back to her home, to Konoha. She had people who worried about her there, people who needed her as much as she needed them. People who loved her. Like that blonde, the one he had first met, that Uzumaki Naruto that looked like Sakura was one of the most important people in the world to him; he had looked very proud of her, happy to get to call her his teammate. And that other one, the one that reminded him endlessly of Sasuke, Sai—that was his name right? Sui hadn't seen much of him, but by the teasing and nicknames that he had seen, he knew that Sai and she were friends, to some degree. There was this blonde that was sitting on Sai's emotionless lap—he hadn't caught her name, but by the way she talked about Sakura, they were good friends. The there was the silver-haired Kakashi, her teacher. He looked very comfortable around Sakura, very much at ease, very happy—as if he were a proud father of a ninja who'd progressed.

Sakura had had lost of friends, who cared about her and loved her and needed her. Yet she was happiest with Team Taka. She had thrown everything away—because there was no doubt in his mind that, should that Hokage do as she was supposed, Sakura was already a missing nin—to be with Sasuke, and him, and Jūgo and _Karin_. Suigetsu himself was a missing ninja, and he wasn't used to doing "the right thing," but this was _Sakura_ they were talking about. Sweet, innocent Sakura that didn't disserve to be a missing nin.

But she had chosen to be one; she had chosen to become a missing ninja, for the sake of Team Taka, worse of all. So…what to do? He needed to think. Either that or he was going good. And if he was going good, then he had to kill himself. Suigetsu preferred to think that he just needed a good cut-everything-in-your-path training session. He'd get that after he did what the boss-man told him to do. Because if he didn't, it wouldn't be a good cut-everything-in-your-path training—it would be a help-me-there's-a-crazy-and-angry-man-after-me fight.

Sui ran through the sand of the Sound and into the trees that hid DenkiMachi. He itched to grab the Kubikiribōchō and just chop down trees like nobody's business—but alas, the boss-man was waiting for him to get his the team.

Did that include the Puerto Rican and her kid?

Bet it did.

Well. That just made his job so much harder. What mother in her right mind would come with an S-rank ninja to his hideout, especially after said S-rank ninja's boss just threatened to take her kid away? No mother—that's what mother! But its not like she's a ninja, she wouldn't be able to fight him decently. But of course, she had a kid with _Itachi_. So that either made his job easier or harder. He wasn't sure which.

Itachi wasn't one to leave his loved ones defenseless. Unless he was. How much did Suigetsu really know about that Uchiha? Honestly—being on a team with that weasel's brother should have brought him more information about Itachi. But it didn't. And that was horrible. How much did Sasuke himself know about his late brother? Iesu!

But anyway, back to the matter at hand. That Puerto Rican—Luisanna, that was her name—was either going to be easier than pie or harder than Sasuke. He preferred to think it was the former. However, luck just didn't like him. Itachi had always been a better fighter than Sasuke—Suigetsu thought that the only reason the weasel was dead was because he wanted to die—and he was Itachi… So, considering that, there was a fifty-fifty chance of her being untrained. Either she was spoiled beyond belief in the "being safe" category or Itachi was going to reform inside his semi-wife's body and kick everyone's shiri. Kami how he hoped it was the former.

* * *

Karin glared emptily at the ceiling above her as she popped a blueberry in her mouth. Gritting her teeth as she chewed, the redhead mentally cursed every god, goddess, spiritual being, and prophet she could remember for not getting her Sasuke-kun back to her soon. In the past half-hour, she had managed to get through all the Egyptian gods and goddesses and she was currently working on the Greek ones—Aphrodite was receiving Karin's hate full on. Right now, the redhead felt that everything that was happening to her—namely, not having Sasuke for herself—on the love goddess. Next on her list was Zeus. And maybe the damned love goddess's son, Eros, for good measure.

Oh, whom was she kidding? She was going to curse them all anyway. And then she'd move on to the Roman versions of them.

Well, that was her plan until it was rudely interrupted by an annoying silvery-blue haired water ninja as he stormed in through the window, not bothering to use the door, though he most certainly had a key. "Let's go," he said.

"What, no 'hey,' or 'hello'?" Karin asked sarcastically. Her red eyes glared death and she reminded herself that she was on Aphrodite before continuing her rant. "Not even a 'Queen Hag'?"

Suigetsu smirked at her; it wasn't a happy smirk. He had other things on his mind more important than a teenage idiot—for example, what to do with Sakura without getting killed. He jumped down from the windowsill and grinned, this time it was a real one. What would it kill him to tease Karin for a bit? It always had released stress. "You want a Queen Hag?" he asked. "Alright, Your Ugliness. At your service, Horrendous."

Karin glared at him, not amused. She took a second to curse Zeus—because she'd already cursed Kami, and every other normal god in history—for giving her _him_ instead of Sasuke. What did she ever do to disserve such a horrible punishment? "Gee, thanks," she muttered. "You make me feel so special." Sighing, she asked, "Where's Sasuke-kun?"

Sui called for Jūgo before he answered. The big orange-haired giant was out of the bathroom in seconds. "The boss-man's home with his honey," Suigetsu said, taking no small pleasure in the way Karin's red eyes bulged out of her head. Karin's jaw had dropped so far down, Suigetsu wondered how it hadn't fallen off—or at least touched the floor. She looked both horrified and like she was gasping for air. She looked like a fish! It was really quite amusing. Why did he ever think that teasing Karin was a bad idea? It was a taboo and he would never, _ever_ make that mistake again. Suigetsu was smiling widely, all worries forgotten as he teased his teammate. "Yup, Sasuke has a honey. She just so happens to be Sakura. You should've seen them, Karin!" Suigetsu shouted. This was probably going to get Sakura in trouble with Karin, but Sakura knew how to handle her. "Sakura was crying and Sasuke, being the lady's man that he is, went in and used his _smooth_"—if you count awkward embraces as smooth, then it was—"moves and cheered her up right away."

Suigetsu was enjoying this so much more than he should. He was three seconds away from laughing his shiri off. Karin was fuming—it looked like steam was wafting out of her ears. Jūgo stood there clueless, thinking about how badly he wanted a penguin. That tuxedo tricked him.

Karin lifted the pillow off the bed she was sitting on—which happened to be Sasuke's—and threw it at Suigetsu. "Shut up, liar!" she growled at him, watching as his face turned to water upon impact. "Why are you here anyway, yarō?"

Suigetsu rubbed his jaw as it reformed. Well, at least it didn't hurt from when Sakura punched him—he would be able to _eat_. He rolled his eyes. "Because Sakura-chan wants us to get home and she also wants us to get Sasuke's sister and bring her home," Sui answered. He grinned at Karin as she readied herself for a fit.

Karin's face was red and angry. "What makes you think I _care_ what your dear 'Sakura-chan' wants?" she snarled. Her hands reached out for another pillow out of the four that rested on the bed, one of which had fallen next to Suigetsu. Her eyes were narrowed and she glared through the thin covering of her eyelashes.

"What makes me think you care is that Sasuke made it our mission to get them home," Suigetsu said smugly.

"I _hate_ you!" Karin screeched.

Suigetsu grinned, sharp teeth showing. "I _love_ you," he teased.

Karin's eyes widened in anger and aimed the pillow in her hand. "That can be fixed!" she sneered, throwing the pillow. Suigetsu grabbed the pillow in time this time, nodded at Jūgo, and jumped out the window. Jūgo jumped after him, leaving Karin to sign out of the motel. She hated her life.

* * *

Hebia grinned at her sleeping daughter and her friend. She found it absolutely adorable how Sakura was draped over Sasuke in her sleep, arms holding him close to her. Her short hair formed a messy halo on Sasuke's chest, like it always did when she slept. She looked completely and utterly at peace—there was even a smile on her face, small and beautiful. Sasuke's arm was around Sakura's middle, holding her protectively. They looked like a perfect Alpha couple. Adorably strong and adorably serious.

Hebia smiled softly. It had been a long day for both of them—they needed some rest. She'd come in search of her daughter, wondering if Sasuke knew where she could be, to explain the finer details of the Tāru, which her daughter had of course already gained, only to come across this. It was adorable. She'd never thought she'd see the day when Sasuke—_Uchiha Sasuke_—showed emotion; but here it was in front of her. And she couldn't help but smile and hope that this wouldn't turn out as horribly as her marriage had.

But Sasuke wasn't Robāto and Sakura wasn't Hebia; they knew how to take care of themselves, and they knew when things would work. So all the Green Serpent could do was smile and pray, help her daughter in her love life and hope that the saying, "Every woman grows up to marry their father" was a lie. Because Sasuke _was not_ Robāto and Sakura _was not_ Hebia and they had a chance at this, whether or not they were too stubborn to notice it.

* * *

Naruto sighed at the rain that pelted the tent. He lounged on the sleeping mat, resting his head on his arms. Lerō lounged lazily near him, keeping his distance from Kiba and Akamaru, both of whom looked scared to be in a tent with the large snake. Personally, Naruto knew that the snake had nothing against the two dogs. It was just that it made both of them more comfortable to be away from him that made the yellow snake keep his distance. Lerō hissed lazily, dragging Naruto's attention to him. The blonde ninja patted his head. "Do you miss Sakura-chan, Lerō?" asked Naruto.

The snake's purple eyes saddened and he opened his mouth as if he were going to say something, but then closed it, which made Naruto groan in frustration.

"Dog-breath," he called to Kiba. Kiba glared at him in return, wary of the large snake. "Why don't our pets ever _talk_?"

"They aren't pets, baka," Kiba growled. "They're partners." He patted Akamaru's head softly as a sign of apperception. "Although I do wish they would at least let us _hear_ their voices."

Naruto nodded. Shikamaru rolled his eyes lazily as he muttered his catch phrase. Kakashi was already was asleep. "Sakura-chan heard his voice," he muttered, patting Lerō on the purple scale. The snake hissed sadly, as if remembering the pink-haired girl. "She said it was nice." This he said to Lerō, coaxing him to talk. He said nothing, and glared as well as a snake could. Naruto begged, "Oh, come _on_, Lerō, please!" No answer. "You're mean to me."

Kiba laughed. "Animals don't really like you, do they, Naruto?" he asked.

"They do!" Naruto shouted. Then he muttered, "They just don't talk to me."

"Yes, because of course the toads of the world _love_ you," Shikamaru mumbled, closing his eyes.

Naruto scowled. He patted the snake's head and said, "You're all _mean_ to me!" Then, with a worried frown, "What are we going to do if we can't find him?"

"Same thing we always do," Shikamaru sighed. "We go home."

* * *

**Okay, I know its short and I know its not as good as it should be, but I wanted some SuiKa fighting, some teasing, some Hebia thinking, some Suigetsu confusion. But still. I can't post anything over the weekend because I'll be at my dad's place, and school is starting up soon… Plus, I really hate being watched while I write. I feel…stalked. But anyway, as the saying goes, Read And Review. **


	33. Chapter 33

**The only Japanese will be names and cuss words (unless I can't find them). And they still will have the asterisks (*) and translations in at the bottom. If they're not here, they're in a previous chapter. Unimportant names—like store names that are irrelevant to the story and there for visual's sake—will be in English.**

**BananaphoneBob/Emma? I am thirteen on the 24****th**** of August. Thank you for the complement. :D Oh and happy late birthday!**

**Standard disclaimer applied.**

* * *

Karin, because people usually are more comfortable around women, had asked around to find out where the Puerto Rican lived. Apparently, she was very popular on the good side of DenkiMachi. Because she was, it was both easy to find someone who knew where she lived and get someone stupid enough to tell the address to complete strangers. The girl's house was covered—_absolutely covered_—in charka. The charka was dark and scary, but somehow caring. What was worse was that there were _two_ different charkas, as if the same jutsu had been preformed twice by different people. It was a protective jutsu, the type non-ninja villages hired ninja to put on them. Karin could tell who the charka belonged to; one was dead and one was blue.

This was going to suck.

Suigetsu, who couldn't see anything, went to open the door. It literally shocked his fingers. Sui pulled his hand away, looking stupidly at his fingers as he wondered what the jigoku that _was_. And then he remembered that this girl had had a _kid_ with _Uchiha Itachi_. Of course she'd have _some_ type of protection, even a simple—yet strong, mind you—jutsu. It kind of sucked. Of course it wasn't going to be _that_ easy; it was _never_ that easy. If it _was_ that easy, then he was dreaming. He was always dreaming when it was easy.

"Anybody know how to get rid of this"—did protection jutsu _have_ a category?—"jutsu?" Karin asked, watching as the two charkas mingled and danced, strengthening each other as they protected. She waved her hands in front of her, glaring at the door like it was the world's biggest mistake. There was really nothing they could do now. But if they came back empty-handed, Sasuke would be angry. And she didn't want Sasuke-kun any angrier than he already was. Or, at least, Karin thought he was angry. If someone bested his Sharingan—because, with how self-righteous that pink-headed vixen was, it _had_ to have been the Sharingan that convinced her not to fight—it would be Sasuke's natural reaction to be angry. But apparently, that rosette had decided it was okay to stay.

There was a long pause before Suigetsu snapped his fingers and gasped. "Jūgo, did Luisanna see you? Ever?" he asked, looking up at the gigantic man expectantly.

Jūgo thought for a second. Considering he'd never even _heard _of the name Luisanna, he'd doubt he'd ever met her. When Sasuke and Sakura had had their fight, he'd been in the bathroom. So…

Karin laughed. "_Luisanna_? What the jigoku kind of name is _that_?" she wondered, snickering. "That is the _gayest_ name I've _ever_ heard! That's even worse than _Sakura_, for the love of kami! It sounds kuso Spanish!"

"That's because it _is_," Suigetsu snapped. He really didn't like Karin making fun of people before she knew them. He _had_ met the girl, and she was a good woman who was just really sad. "Now _shut_ it."

Jūgo stood watching his two teammates blindly, waiting for a moment to speak up. When Suigetsu looked back up at him keenly, Jūgo took his chance before Karin could start complaining again. "No, I haven't," he said, watching Sui curiously. What _did_ this water ninja have in mind? It was pretty interesting to watch whenever Suigetsu got an idea—it was fun to watch the way his purple eyes lit up as if a lightbulb were turned on inside and he made this _face_. He was honestly curious.

Suigetsu smiled, as if something had gone right. "Good," he said, standing straighter. "Then we'll hide, you knock on the door, and we'll be around to help when it's okay."

"But wait—" It was already too late; Karin and Suigetsu had sped off, leaving Jūgo alone.

There was a moment of pregnant silence, excluding the pitter-patter of a storm that was just become a storm. And then Jūgo shrugged lightly, knocking his heavy fist on the door.

The door opened on the fifth pound. Jūgo could practically _feel_ Karin and Suigetsu's eyes on him as the door creaked open lazily. The face that answered him was oval and tan, with plump tan lips set in an upset frown as if she'd been expecting someone else. But her bright brown eyes had a knowing in them and Jūgo almost asked what was wrong. Before he could even uncharacteristically open his mouth, the bronze woman sighed, "What?"

Luisanna rubbed sleep from her eyes, took her glasses from her shirt, cleaned them, and mounted them on their usual place upon her face. Sharp features registered in her mind; spiky, disheveled orange locks stood on end from the man's sharp features. Luisanna snorted, opening the door farther before leaning on the threshold. "Jūgo," she said, as if she had known him for so long and was upset that he hadn't visited sooner. She was wearing one of Itachi's old shirt, the purple one made of mostly mesh, and it rested loosely on her body, its hem ending right around her thighs; his thin necklace hung loosely on her tanned neck. When she'd awoken, she grabbed the things that reminded her most of her 'Tachi. The clothes held some of Itachi's lingering presence; Luisanna took comfort in that.

Luisanna was about to ask what he wanted—and answer the obvious question on the poor man's confused lips—but Suigetsu and Karin were suddenly at the gigantic man's sides.

"Anna!" Suigetsu said, a one-sided grin on his face. His left shark tooth peaked through his lips. "Your name's too long."

Brown eyes narrowed dangerously. "Who in jigoku gave you permission to be calling me _that_?" she asked, growling through the words. Her grip got tighter on the threshold. Her voice was hard, her lips set in a strong frown.

The Hōzuki's grin didn't leave. "Well," he dragged, purple eyes tacked to brown ones, trying his hardest to get on good terms with her in order to get this mission over with, "after what you saw, I'd say we're old friends."

That broke Luisanna's anger. She grinned, her white teeth peaking through her lips. "Like I said," she huffed, pretending to be angry through her smile. After all, _Suigetsu_ didn't do anything. It was Sasuke. Suigetsu didn't want to take her kid; Sasuke did. Suigetsu wasn't as heartless as Sasuke. So long as no one mentioned _him_, there were only two reasons to distrust Suigetsu and his teammates—one being that they were _missing ninja_, two being that they were _Sasuke's_ missing ninja. But when had one or the other stopped her from trusting—example one being Itachi and Kisame, example two being Sakura—people? "'Tachi ruined men for me."

"Too much info," the redhead behind Suigetsu almost gagged. She stuck her finger into her mouth and made a vomiting motion.

"Can't handle the heat? Get out of the kitchen," Luisanna murmured, smiling. Then, turning to face Suigetsu, she asked, "Why are you here? Why didn't you knock?"

Suigetsu looked uncomfortable. There was a pregnant moment of silence in which the only noise was the sound of heavy rain. It thundered. Suigetsu opened his mouth like a floundering fish. Then he closed it. When he reopened it, he brightly asked, "Where's the tyke?"

The hesitance didn't go unnoticed. It showed in the Puerto Rican's face. Careful suspicion controlled the features of her face. "A…asleep," she said cautiously, wondering if she should have told him. "Why?" she drew out, brows knitted together.

"Curiosity," Suigetsu declared, nonchalantly. Noticing that he'd alarmed her, he was trying to make her comfortable again. "So…"

Silence.

"So…Sakura-chan wants to talk to you," Suigetsu announced.

Walls went up. Luisanna's relaxed expression stoned over again, her lips returning to a tight line—à la Uchiha. She had her hands on the doorknob, ready to slam it in their faces. But Jūgo saw his chance and gripped the young woman's wrist. "What the—!" Luisanna asked in a shout. Jūgo already had her over his shoulder. "_Déjame __ir_! Let me _go_! Let me _go_!"

Suigetsu was inside the house, sleeping Uchiha in hand.

The sight of her son shut her up for a second. Then she shouted louder than ever, "_Let me go_! _Let me go_!_ Déjame __ir_, _déja_!" She was punching her captor's back, kicking and scratching as hard as she could, growling. "_Let me _go_!_" Luisanna growled, _roared_. But the rain drowned her out. "_Let me go_!" She shouted the same thing in Spanish, "_Déjame __ir_!" only for it to be drowned again. Her brown eyes were wide, angry; she poured all the force she had into the kicking and screaming, trying her best to escape, all for nothing. No one heard her. Even her own son was sleeping.

"Stop fighting," Suigetsu said, trying to calm her down. They were running. "We're not going to kill you! We just want to take you home."

* * *

Hebia cupped her tea in her uncovered hands. The steam wafted out of the ceramic mug and into her nose, dragging the smell of white tea with it. Her emerald green eyes were deep into the pale tea.

It was Robāto's favorite. She remembered how he used to drink it all in one gulp, no matter how big the cup was, then slam it on the table with a satisfied grin on his tanned face. There would be a slim, milky mustache on his upper lip. Hebia remembered how she would lean across the table and thumb away the leftovers. With a smile, she would suck off the tea from her finger and grin at him. And they would laugh. Then Robāto would make a dirty joke and they would laugh. It was routine—a comfortable, wonderful routine from before they got married. From the days when their relationship wasn't more than two teenagers; from the days Hebia _thought_ they weren't more than two in-love teens.

But she'd fallen too far and she'd been tricked into the bedroom.

Hebia pulled her hands away from the cup and pushed it away. The tea sloshed around in the ceramic mug and spilled onto the teakwood dining table. The Green Serpent glared at the cup in disgust. Why had she even _made_ that? It was just another horrible reminder. Even the scent of the tea was making her sick to her stomach.

She stood up from her chair. Night was already there, but the darkness of the outside world left the hideout untouched. Hebia swung the door to the kitchen open and shouted for a towel, only to be rushed out and told that it would be taken care of. She huffed, unhappy. She never had anything to do around the hideout other than take care of Burūsu and order around a few henchmen for fun. Her son was already asleep and she wasn't in the mood to do anything of the ordering-around type.

So Hebia sat in the chair she'd left, frowning at the spill that had been cleaned up.

"What's wrong, Serpent?"

Hebia looked up, grinning. "Sho-kun," she said, her smile almost hurting her face.

The black-haired man leaned over the short woman's body from behind the chair. "Well… What did that poor tea do to _you_, Hebia-chan?" His gray eyes were bright and teasing. He gathered her long black hair in his hands and grinned.

Hebia didn't say anything that was on her mind. She instead smiled and said, "Nothing…I _hope_. Why? Do _you_ know something? Is it plotting against me?" Her green eyes weren't muddled with horrible reminders; instead they were vivid and taunting. "Are _you _plotting against me?"

"No, ma'am, I am not." Sho grinned. "Me, plot against my queen? I think not!"

And they laughed.

* * *

"We're going home."

Naruto grinned widely, his first thought being that Kakashi had found Sasuke. Then he wondered why his sensei would say it in such an unhappy way. And then he frowned. "Messenger bird?" he asked, frown overpowering his features. His blue eyes weren't bright.

"Messenger bird," Kakashi confirmed.

They didn't have to say anything to the others. They were listening.

The team sliced through the air, hopping tree to tree. Heading home, empty-handed yet again.

* * *

**I'm sorry I was late. I try my very best to get on time, but…I'm only human, people! **

**I know its short. I, again, repeat that I am so, **_**so **_**sorry. I'm on my last year of middle school and the first two months; I haven't gotten a hold of it yet. But when I **_**do**_**…(fill in the blank, people!) So, anyhow, thank you for bearing with me and not being mad at me—or at least not stating so in your reviews.**

**I'm waiting on my birthday present! Over a two months late, babes! But that's okay. I can wait. (Seriously? **_**Please**_**? A small one? Come **_**on**_**! **_**Please?**_**)**

**R&R!**


	34. Chapter 34

**The only Japanese will be names and cuss words (unless I can't find them). And they still will have the asterisks (*) and translations in at the bottom. If they're not here, they're in a previous chapter. Unimportant names—like store names that are irrelevant to the story and there for visual's sake—will be in English.**

**Standard disclaimer applied.**

* * *

Silence echoed within the Sound Palace's underground walls. Peaceful and still silence, comfortable and calm. There wasn't anything to brake the cold quiet—other than a shouting that broke through the stonewalls from miles away. It woke Sasuke up much faster than it did Sakura. And when it did, Sakura was curled into his chest, her elegant body forming the C-shape he knew so well. Her pink hair was sticking to her face, a small, delicate smile on her face. It looked as if the simplest movement—the smallest change, the littlest adjustment—would wake her.

So he didn't move. Just appraised his Sakura. Watching her chest rise, fall and then rise again, whilst wondering why in jigoku he would've ever even _tried_ to convince himself that there wasn't _some_ kind of connection between her and him—some kind of _bond_. But bonds were weaknesses. Weaknesses that could be kidnapped and used against him; weaknesses that could hurt you by simply hurting themselves. Bonds gave someone the power over him, power he couldn't let anyone have. Bonds gave someone a power over him that he himself was using over Naruto. He was using Naruto's own bond with Sakura against him. And if someone could do that to Naruto, someone could do it to _him_.

But Sasuke wasn't Naruto. Sasuke wasn't stupid. Sasuke didn't _form _bonds.

But he had. And she was resting like an angel on his chest. Her big green eyes—regaining their brightness with every second she spent away from Konoha—closed; a leg entangled with his own, another kicked back; hands held together as if in prayer resting underneath her head; pink lips slightly parted; breath warming his chest through the cloth of his shirt, cooling the heated hatred in his heart… Sasuke blinked his eyes, closing them longer than necessary to refocus himself. The echoing of a girl's shouts from miles off was soft on his ears, and it still hadn't woken the sleeping angel.

She had to be exhausted, Sasuke thought for the first time. He was tempted to lift his arm from his side and brush away the pink waves clinging to her face. But even the slightest movement might wake her from this calm. Mild amusement trickled into him when he noticed that she drooled a bit in her sleep; it was what her hair was sticking to. How hadn't he noticed it before? It was so painfully adorable; it almost made his heart ache. Sasuke frowned at his own thoughts. He had no heart. A heart was for the weak.

All past thoughts took only seconds, and finally the angry shouting woke the sleeping girl. Her brilliant emerald eyes blinked themselves open, fighting the sleep that threatened to take over again. The planes of Sasuke's hard chest felt completely normal under her skin; it took her a while to realize—

She was on Sasuke's chest! And he wasn't moving her away!

Was he sick?

Sakura didn't have time to wonder or worry over the Uchiha's health because of another shout that echoed through the walls. She jumped up off Sasuke's chest. "Is that—?"

A shout broke her off, clear in Spanish, words that Efrain hadn't taught her, but were of course cuss words. Anger was known to break language barriers. If it were in Japanese, Sakura was sure it would have something to do with letting her go and cussing them all to jigoku and back. Sakura worried if little Kuku understood her; he sure knew too much as it was.

"I think we should probably go save her from…" Who the jigoku would harm Itachi's widow? Some people were really superstitious and thought that a ghost could come back and wreak revenge from beyond the beyond. It was kind of silly but people believed what they wanted to believe. Unless someone was more worried about a _living_ person that could damage them right there and then. Like Sasuke. "Suigetsu?" the rosette guessed. And she was standing, off the blackness of Sasuke's huge bed and onto the onyx-colored rug under the bed that expanded its radius over and under the bed. Muffled sounds of outrage, followed by muffled sounds of failing calming, broke through the walls again. They were close enough now that their voices were clear. Sakura frowned, and then huffed, "_Really_? _Really_, Suigetsu?"

She raced out the room, glancing back once at the ruffled Sasuke, an order to follow. Sasuke rolled his eyes, but followed nonetheless.

What a sight that greeted them. Luisanna, dressed clad in clothes that were two sizes too big and _obviously_ from the other gender, kicking and screaming. Suigetsu was trying to hold her arms together; the expression on his face said that he wasn't having very much luck. Luisanna could barely move, but she was giving herself rope-burn on the skin of her captor's hands. Her legs were jerking back and forth awkwardly in Jūgo's iron grip. A river of cold curses ran out of her wide-open mouth as if in a race. English, Spanish, and Japanese cusses swam out of her open mouth like prisoners from a jail. Her brown eyes were fixated on her son, who cried loudly enough to challenge his mother from Karin's arms. He, noticeably, was trying to escape the stranger's arms. And Karin was having trouble controlling the small toddler.

"For the love of— Really— What— _Huh_?" Sakura stuttered, sage eyes wide. What in jigoku was happening? Sakura stared, wide-eyed, her left eye twitching. Then she swallowed and frowned; already ready to control the situation. "Oh, for the love of Kami, _let her go_!" Her voice echoed. It most likely traveled, but they were so far in the middle of nowhere that no one really cared.

The Boricua landed square on her shiri. Rubbing her butt, Luisanna managed to mutter, "Thanks," before she stood and, glaring at the redhead that held her crying child, extending her arms out to her baby boy. The little boy was still crying, but his sobs lowered into sniffles. His mother proceeded to whisper sweet nothings into his ear.

Meanwhile, Sakura crossed her arms and frowned, her foot tapping. An expecting glare flamed in her eyes. She looked the part of a disappointed mother—only much, _much _more sterns. These were _ninja_, for the love of all that was even _remotely _holy! They weren't little kids! She'd expect something like this from Nao and Cherushī—because they were _kids_, wanting nothing more than please—but from highly trained nukenin? That was just sad…really, _really_ sad. "_What_ were you _thinking_?" she shouted.

Suigetsu frowned. From out of seemingly nowhere, he grabbed his water bottle and sucked on the straw. It made the empty _sllllll-slllll-slurp_ of sucking up air. "Ask the boss-man, Sakura-chan," he said. He was completely calm about ratting out his boss to his not-quite-but-almost-but-not-really girlfriend. It was so Suigetsu of him.

And the mighty anger of Sakura's wrath fell onto Sasuke.

* * *

Naruto frowned. How he wanted to go home. But something—_something_—just didn't feel right. It felt as if he was missing _something_. As if something were waiting. As if he left right now, he would miss something.

So he stalled. Of course he did. He was _Naruto_! He never left unless everything felt _normal_. Or at least normal for him, which was a completely different kind of normal. And this feeling in the pit of his stomach was not it.

"I think I left my contact!"

Kakashi glared, his visible black eye flaming. "You don't have contacts," he stated simply, almost annoyed. Defiantly annoyed.

"How would you know?"

Shikamaru scowled. "Troublesome teammates."

Naruto scowled at him briefly, then settled for ignoring him, which was very un-Naruto of him. Instead, he settled for making his sky-blue eyes wide as he begged his former sensei, "Just let me look for—"

"For the love…_let_…_go_!"

Kiba lifted his head from his packing. "Was that—?" He cut himself off, listening; sure that he had imagined it. All four froze in their spots, the familiar voice freezing them in their shoes, striking liquid terror into the marrow of their bones. It was a _long_, _long_ while before they heard something else:

"What were you…?"

There wasn't anything to tell them to move. It was silent. And then it wasn't. They were stuffing anything that would fit into their packed bags and running towards the sound, the voice, _Sakura_.

Maybe they'd been closer than they thought, Kakashi wondered, frowning, as he jumped another tree. He hadn't liked at all the message from the bird at all. Now, both his and Tsunade's suspicions had been proven right. They hadn't heard the expression of the words clearly—the words were muffled beyond almost all recognition because of distance, and they all knew how loud Sakura could shout once driven to it—so they had no idea whether or not she was in danger. It chilled Kakashi to the bone and iced his blood into glaciers.

The words of the messenger bird's note echoed in his mind, cold and emotionless, read from the page: _Sakura's been missing for a long while. Abandon the mission. Something's up. _Do not_ tell Naruto, but I think maybe Sasuke has something to do with it. Abandon the mission._

* * *

Slivers of the sun's flaming tongues of light entered through the small, reinforced window that rested high above his reach. They were shimmering and warm, reminding him ferociously of his wife and daughter. How they both had a smile that could heat a room. His wife was much older than him. She'd been twenty when they'd met, actually met and talked; he'd been fifteen. And when their pink-haired child had been born he'd been seventeen; she'd been twenty-two.

He remembered being eighteen when his daughter—that _mesu_—had first smiled at him. It had seemed that the dark room—because it, of course, had been nighttime—had lit up for just a second, flaming up with the sun's warmth and coloring the room. He remembered wondering how such a small, mucus-infested creature could create something as awe-inspiring as that smiled and being disgusted that the kid could. Now he missed it. Seeing it now would at least solve the mystery that banged on the walls of his mind: _Was she alive? Was she okay?_

That horrible dream-man with the snake-yellow eyes had wedged those horrifying thoughts in his head. And he wanted them to go away—_now_.

* * *

Tsunade chewed on her nail. She looked like a beaver gnawing on wood. Her neck ached with the time she'd been curled over her thumb; her nail was soft and pliable after absorbing the moisture of her mouth; and her Sake bottle was empty. In her right hand—the one whose fingernails wasn't currently under attack—TonTon rested, appeased because she'd somehow managed to drag Tsunade's "emergency" Sake far, far away from her before she'd even awoken. Tsuande had taken to holding her pet tight and near her, something she did when she was stressed out. Both knew that once Sakura came back, unharmed and unscathed, TonTon would be free to roam the world as she pleased. But for now, Tsunade needed her. So the pink pig didn't bother trying to escape the blonde's monstrous strength.

There was a pile of paperwork that, as usual, needed to be done. And, as usual, it was going undone. However, unlike the usual, they weren't going undone because Tsunade was off her shiri; today, they were going undone because Tsuande was worrying over her favorite little protégé. Where could she be? She'd told the team about what she worried and, while she hoped to whatever sacred or all-powerful being was watching over them and using them like his puppets on strings that she was wrong, she knew her instincts wouldn't lie to her.

She wasn't the first female Hokage for nothing.

Tsunade chomped a little harder on her thumbnail that necessary. It broke off, landing on the bed of her tongue. The abused ends of the fingernail scratched on her mouth and she spit it out in a fit of disgust. It fell on the papers and left a wet mark before the angered blonde swiped it away. A deep breath rested heavy in her chest. She held TonTon tighter, letting the breath escape her in a whoosh of worried sadness. Her half-gnawed fingernails scratched at the stubbly fur on TonTon's head.

There should be a messenger bird on the way for her.

"_Shizune_!"

A head of soft black hair peaked out of the door's threshold. TonTon oinked at it, a snort following soon after. Shizune smiled a soft smile that barely lifted the corners of her lips at the sight of the Hokage sober. "Yes?"

The blonde scratched at the piggy's head. "Has there been a bird?"

"No," the jonin said, watching her best friend carefully. With the fall of the Hokage's expression, Shizune hurried to ask, "Why? Are you expecting one? I could double check if you want."

Tsunade frowned. "No, don't bother. Tell me if there is though." And she returned to scratching her pet's head in dismay and worry.

* * *

"What in the _world_ were you thinking, Sasuke?" Sakura's voice was heavy with disbelief. "After what you just did last night? _Kidnapping_ her? _Really_?"

A smirk was playing with the corners of Sasuke's lips. It wasn't a malicious smirk—at was an _amused_ smirk. It was such a foreign concept that it itself almost set his chest rumbling with laughter. Sakura—trying to reprimand _him_, Sasuke? It was so…so…_Sakura_ of her. It was so comforting it was almost laughable. He felt the uncharacteristic need to ruffle her pink hair, which had just minutes ago been stuck to her face.

Sakura started to open her mouth again, ready to shout her little pink head off, but Sasuke cut her off with a monotone that was threatening to crack into amusement. "Let's go inside."

Sakura sucked in a breath, ready again to say no and shout at him for scaring the gomi* out of his almost-sister-in-law. Then she thought for a second, knowing how loud she shouted. It would give away Sasuke's little hideout. "Fine," she huffed, and followed Luisanna, Kuku, Suigetsu, Karin, Jūgo, and Sasuke into the underground hideaway.

* * *

**I decided to hurry up with the 34****th**** chapter. I hope it lived up to your expectations.**

**Incase you don't remember, gomi means crap.**

**READ AND REVIEW **_**NOW**_**! Thank you. Lots. Oh, and there's a pole up on my profile. Go take it.**


	35. Chapter 35

**The only Japanese will be names and cuss words (unless I can't find them). And they still will have the asterisks (*) and translations in at the bottom. If they're not here, they're in a previous chapter. Unimportant names—like store names that are irrelevant to the story and there for visual's sake—will be in English.**

**Standard disclaimer applied.**

* * *

They had to have been very close to the hideout they were looking for; much, much closer than they'd ever originally thought. They were on the outskirts of Oto, too far from its center to be anywhere _near_ where the fabled Sound Palace. But they'd heard Sakura's voice loud and clear and—no matter how loud she was—according to the laws of both science and sound there was no way that her voice could have traveled over two hundred feet. While none of the teammates knew what their leader knew, all were worried. How could they not be? Sakura was their medic; she was their friend. They didn't know whether she had gone willingly—and if she had…well, they'd have to bring her and Sasuke back by force—or if she was in danger. It worried them.

So, with a worried hop in their leaps, they of course reached the original place of the shout in less than even ten minutes.

Or so they should have.

But all that greeted their combined four pairs of eyes was dust, dirt, and the blazing tongues of the ball of fire that warmed the earth. It seemed as if the partials of dust hadn't liked the ground too much and decided to go for a spin. The sun even outlined them in their own little circles of precaution, a warning to all who came: _do not inhale_. However, dastardly things they were, the grime entered their lungs nonetheless. The wind was upturning the sand, folding it over and over like a sandy blanket. Any footprints that had been here were long gone. There was no trace of charka or a fight. Nothing to say whether or not Sakura had been forced. The sand had wiped it all clean. The heavy breeze dragged the dust up and over the gigantic hill that could be confused for a small mountain.

It looked like it'd take _forever_ to walk to the other side, to see the steep end of the hill. It looked completely deserted.

And, had Naruto not heard a shout from this exact place, that's exactly what he would've thought. But he had so he didn't. There had to be something hiding the actual hideout. A kind of genjustu or some such thing. If he took off his sandal, Naruto was sure that the sand wouldn't feel real—he had trained long, _long_ hours and sometimes _weeks_ to differentiate illusions from the real thing. So, hopping on one leg to take off his open-toed boot-sandal, that's exactly what he did.

"What the jigoku are you doing?" Kiba shouted, vertical brown eyes wide. "Are you crazy? This sand could burn the skin off your foot!"

Kakashi, knowing the blonde like he did, simply frowned and ran a hand through his silvery mane. Shikamaru sighed a heavy, exasperated sigh, muttering under his breath, "Troublesome teammates," while waiting to see if the blonde's foot melted off.

And melt it off it did—figuratively. Naruto jumped to his one shoed foot, hopping up, down, and around like an angry kangaroo, holding the burned one. "Holy sweet _seikō_—that is hot!" he bellowed. His voice reached such a pained height that it actually cracked on the word hot. He knew he'd hear jigoku for that later from Kiba, but right now, all he could focus on was cooling the forest fire that had sprouted on his right foot. What a wonderful time to be in the middle of a desert! He'd settle for a mirage right now if it'd cool his blazing foot. A gust of air from his now-dusty lungs didn't even touch the flames.

And then it stopped. Of course, the foot still hurt like bloody murder, but suddenly, it didn't matter. All that mattered now was the fact that _something_ was poking through the other side of the small mountain—big hill?—and that it did _not_ look natural. It shined.

Naruto slipped on his boot-sandal, a curious expression on his face—blonde brows knitted together, wide mouth in a suspicious purse. "Kakashi-

sensei…Shika…Kiba!" he called. They were all within his sight, but hardly within earshot. "I think you'd better see this!" And, because he was Naruto, he raced around to the shimmering thing. Naruto's jaw fell.

Was that…is that…was that…_a window_?

It took a few seconds for the vital piece of information to brake through, but there it was—less than three-seventeenths of a window exposed. Dirty and mud-caked, there the glass was, looking so underused it'd be a wonder if the hinges and locks hadn't rusted over. It was the only sign of life within the miles he was currently willing to explore. It wasn't even a sign of _life_, but rather of _possible_ life.

Lerō—who'd loyally slithered alongside Naruto, maneuvering the planes of the sand-covered ground as easily as if he'd lived in a similar place for the past few years—hissed lightly, almost longingly, at the windowpane. His long, thin pink tongue slithered. Dark purple eyes that matched the lone scale glared thoughtfully at the window. His yellow tail knocked on the glass as if waiting for a response.

"Great idea," Shikamaru hummed. The thin grains of dancing sand that he stood upon muffled his slow footsteps. They stopped cold.

"Who wants to help me clean this out?" Naruto asked cheerily, as only Naruto could when faced with years worth of work. "Come on, Kakashi-sensei!" he shrieked. He was on his knees already, the sea of sand digging past his pants and into his skin. The sand that covered the window was callusing the palm of his skin even further as Naruto dug past it like a dog. Lerō was helping, sweeping away sand and dirt that caked onto the window like a broom with his tail.

Kakashi frowned down at his teammate, digging like a puppy alongside both Lerō and Akamaru, who joined like the excited puppy he was at heart. Sakura's voice had come from here. She could be in danger. But there was no sign of life for this one window, drowned in the sands of the Sound. This could be the only chance to find both Sasuke _and_ Sakura. Slim as it was. The silver-haired copy-ninja was on his knees without a word, joining the three different species ninja on the ground. Soon after, Kiba followed, digging with as much vigor as his partner; then Shikamaru with a lazy shake of his pineapple-haired head.

* * *

Luisanna put a bowl of mashed up baby food that couldn't be very appetizing at all in front of Fugaku. She smiled at him and planted a spoon in the yellowy muck. She put the same guck in front of Burūsu with a small spoon. They both dug in like starved monkeys, making Luisanna giggle. The small giggle didn't last long; her face was suddenly stone as she listened to Sakura rant.

Sasuke was sitting in a chair like a child being reprimanded. His muscular arms were crossed and he rocked the chair back and forth on its hind two legs; his molten onyx were coated with entertainment at Sakura's Sakura-ness; there was a small, beautiful smirk on his face that broke the hearts of all those who saw, even Sakura's as she gave him the sternest talking-to since his mother was alive.

"After you try to get her to _give up_ her baby," Sakura growled, standing ramrod straight in front of Sasuke's squeaking chair. Her foot tapped and her arms ached from being crossed for so long. "You _kidnap _her? Do you have _any_ idea how _scared_ she was?"

"I wasn't—"

Sakura sent a pointed glare at the older woman. "You shut up, I'm trying to help you here!" Luisanna's eyes widened and a stifled giggle puffed her cheeks. Sakura's glare returned to Sasuke. "She's a civilian, she wasn't _trained_ to deal with situations like that!" Luisanna opened her mouth, only to have Sakura shout at her, "Don't even!" then return her attention to the eldest living Uchiha. "You could've given her a heart attack! Do you want to be held responsible for both your brother's death"—low blow, yeah, she knew—"_and_ his wife's? She's your _sister_, Sasuke! And that's your nephew, and you almost scared them _both_ to death! Kuku-kun was making fine progress at getting over the trauma _you _caused him until you made all that hubbub about him coming with you and made him suffer a relapse. And guess what?"

Sasuke's chair squeaked. A low chuckle escaped his nose. His hand grabbed Sakura's crossed arms and pulled her to him. She stumbled and regained her balance before falling into his lap with help from Sasuke's hands on her waist. Their foreheads touched just barely. "I get it," he chortled lowly. Those green eyes were staring at him again, wide and beautiful; they were bright again, reminding him that they _weren't_ before she'd crossed to his side. She was better emotionally suited for the dark side, wasn't she? Or any side that had her mother in it; that had _him _in it, egotistically. "I won't do it again."

Sakura gulped. Sasuke's eyes…serious and joyful…she'd never seen them like that before. They were bright with amusement; they were _beautiful_. And there was a _smile_ on his face—an actual, two-sided _smile_, not a smirk. It lit up his whole face brilliantly. His eyes were so big and so close… Oh, Kami… And he had a dimple! A _dimple_! Just _one_, on the left side of his face. His eyes were sparkling hypnotically. The smell of his skin—musky and bittersweet somehow—wafted up to her nose. Sakura blinked, trying to get out of the hypnosis. It was nothing like the Sharingan's; it had a classification all its own. It felt like floating on water instead of being drowned in it. No matter how hard or how much she blinked, she couldn't seem to escape the spellbinding power of Sasuke's face, lit up with an actual smile. The smell of his bittersweet breath drifted up from his mouth and the soft breathing of his nose.

The smile hadn't left and the room was quite; the toddlers weren't giggling, Luisanna wasn't contradicting anyone, Suigetsu's silence was expectant, and Karin was too horrified to say anything.

Those smiling lips were attacked by Sakura's. They were softer and more beautiful when trapped with her own.

Sakura's hands—which were on the muscles of Sasuke's thigh when she'd caught herself on them—traveled up to Sasuke's shoulders, keeping her anchored.

Sasuke froze. Sakura was… She'd taken the liberty to… Her lips were so soft; they felt wonderful on his. As soon as that singular thought entered his mind, as soon as his muddled, _happy_ thoughts became coherent, he was kissing her back; hands traveling from Sakura's waist to her neck. His hands cupped her neck softly, tilting it better.

Sakura broke away, a smile curling her lips back and a red blush that could challenge even the brightest apple on her cheeks.

"I always knew you were a lady's man, Sasuke!" Suigetsu whooped. It brought an even brighter blush to Sakura's face. Sui smiled as he registered that fact. "Oh, stop blushing," he scoffed at her. "You know you've been wanting to do that since you were twelve, more or less."

Sakura blinked yet again, jaw floundering for words and gasping for air in embarrassment. Sasuke simply rolled his eyes, expression once again controlled, dimpled smile put away in his large and undiscovered bag of tricks. His hands were again on her waist, while Sakura had removed her hands from him completely, shied.

"Nee-sama…?" Burūsu whispered, his rounded vowels confused. He had bits of banana baby food trailing down the corner of his mouth and down his chin. "What just happened?"

Sakura giggled, embarrassment tracing through her voice. "Nothing, baby," she said rather breathlessly. "Just…I'm very happy is all."

Sitting on his big-boy chair, the five-year-old Inuzuka frowned. "But Sasuke-san was just…" He didn't know how to express it.

The pink-haired lioness blushed darker. "Ask Mama, okay?"

The small, silent Uchiha swallowed his food cleanly. He was such a little gentleman. Did the hand-eye coordination come with being an Uchiha, or was it just a part of who he was? "_Mami_ and _Papi_ used to do it a lot," he muttered to himself and the older toddler that sat next to him. "Mama called it _kissing_. Papa said it was the best thing in the world and that he couldn't wait until I was old enough to understand how much he loved us; he said only people who are in love like he and Mama are."

The present tense brought tears to Luisanna's eyes. Kuku's innocence knotted at Sakura's throat. The unfamiliar feeling of guilt nested itself in Sasuke's gut. Suigetsu was shocked into silence. Jūgo frowned lightly at the boy and his soberness. Karin was still horrified from a few minutes ago.

But, being Suigetsu, he'd soon found enough of his voice to ask Karin, "Karin, are you alive in there?" When he didn't get an answer, Suigetsu planted a well-thrown punch at her shoulder. "Hey, _Ugly_!"

Karin blinked out of her shock. She didn't say a word to any of them; she just left the room. Suigetsu followed, worried.

* * *

Hebia was helping the maids clean out the lounge, which had been closed for the day in order to be cleaned thoroughly. Kami only knew how many STDs and STIs resided in the fabric of the many loveseats, sofas, and armchairs. Armed with homemade Windex, yellow rubber gloves, and truckloads of elbow grease, Hebia was battling it out with the grime of the innermost part of windows. She'd won five battles so far and was engaged in the sixth.

With her ramrod-straight black hair in a tight ponytail, she started with the edges. Part of the sand was removed from this one—and there were _scratch_ marks on the outside of it. Hebia squinted her eyes. Was it just her, or was something _removing_ the sand? A yellow ocher tail looked like it was _sweeping_ away dirt—a _snake_? Claws—yes, those were claws—were digging up sand like a dog. A hand appeared closer to the window; its fingers brushed against the outside of the window. The hand's nails were caked with dirt.

Holy _seikō_!

The spray bottle of Windex fell to the floor. She was speeding to the dining room where she knew the runners of the Palace were. This place was hidden so imawashii _well_. Its only weakness was the sand that hid it and the wind. It hid charka and anything anyone could think of; even Sasuke's _office_ was hidden by a genjustu that was hidden by the location so well that the charka used for that genjustu was hidden. How in jigoku could someone have found it? It was a windy day, sure, but the genjustu should've hidden it. Unless that genjustu was weakening; it _had_ been a while since it was renewed.

With her speed, she was in the dining room in no time. She even had time to register the fact that Sasuke and Sakura were holding hands, and to be pleased by it, as she—very calmly—announced, "Someone found us."

Sasuke stood from his chair. "_What_?" he spat. "_How_?" His obsidian eyes turned crimson in shock and anger. "_Who_, Hebia, _who_?" he shouted, even though he had a feeling he knew.

Sakura stared wide-eyed at her mother. "Mama," she said slowly, "are you _sure_?"

"Listen to me," Hebia said urgently. "I've been a ninja for longer than you've been alive; I trained under the same person who trained Orochimaru—_of course I'm sure_! There's a dog and a snake and at _least_ one human. And they're digging a the window in the lounge."

Jūgo stared, wordless as always, only this time because of shock. This place was supposed to be foolproof. There was just no way someone _found_ it.

Sasuke strode out the room. He didn't run, didn't walk; he _strode_, with powerful, sure steps to the lounge. Half his team followed.

Karin's door slammed and she jumped to her bed, clutching her pillow. No tears escaped her eyes; instead they burned as she stared up at the kaki color of the ceiling above. _That whore kissed him,_ she whispered in her mind. _That whore kissed him and didn't get punched. That whore kissed him and he _liked_ it._ The dimpled smile that tore across Sasuke-kun's face was imbedded into her skull. She'd _never_ seen him smile like that—she hadn't even known he had a dimple, for the love of anything holy. She was supposed to _love_ him; love meant knowing each and every little thing about the person you loved, right? And she hadn't _known_! She'd kissed him too, and ended up with a sprained leg and charka deprivation. That rosette little _stick_ had gone away unscathed.

Maybe he hadn't liked it; maybe he was just too stunned to react. Maybe…

Oh, Kami, whom was she trying to kid? If he hadn't wanted to kiss her, his hands wouldn't have cupped her neck; he wouldn't have smiled; he wouldn't have let her. He would've moved away the second he registered what was happening, just like he did to her; he would've thrown her across the room or something. Karin _knew_ it.

_They kissed_. The only kiss Sasuke had ever enjoyed, and it was from a pink-haired, five-foot-three little medic—not from a redheaded five-foot-four tracker. Not from Karin.

Her eyes stung. She'd had them open for far too long.

The rumble of her opening door made Karin jump. Suigetsu peeked in—first one eye, then his head, and finally he entered. "How's the Queen of Ugly?" he asked, trying to annoy her out of her slump. He weighed down the bed when he sat. Karin grabbed the pillow that she wasn't holding like a lifeline and chucked it at him. Her aim held and Suigetsu's face melted into water, drenching the bed and the pillow. Suigetsu's reformed face frowned. "See what you did, Your Horridness? Now you've got to get your sheets cleaned. Those poor maids, having to clean your bedcovers because you're too _dumb _to take care of them."

Karin's eyes were watering now. When she spoke, her voice was shaky and hurt. "Stop that," she said, and her voice cracked.

Suigetsu scowled. This was the second time she'd shown him vulnerability. He should be more supportive. Instead, he asked, as annoyingly as he could, "Stop what, Your Repulsiveness?"

"_That_," Karin growled. Her voice cracked again. There was a tear on her cheek "Stop calling me ugly. I don't like it; I'm not in the mood, Suigetsu. Just leave." Her hold on the pillow turned into a death grip.

She was really down, Suigetsu registered. He frowned softly, his eyebrows pulling together in worry. One of his hands rested on Karin's calf. "Sorry," he whispered to her. "You didn't stand a chance, Karin," he reminded her.

"If I had my pillow, I'd throw it at you," she murmured, glaring at the ceiling above her.

Sui's voice was soft. "You didn't."

Karin sighed. "I know. I've always known. But at least I tried, right? You can never blame a girl for trying."

She was far too serious for Suigetsu's tastes. Teasingly, he squeezed her leg. "Karin, after Sasuke's fight with Deidara, you planned on drugging Jūgo and I and raping Sasuke's comatose body," he muttered lightly. A soft laugh from both of them followed. "I think you did a bit more than try. You practically _stalked_ him—no, you _did_ stalk him."

Karin laughed freely now. "Should I be proud of that?" she wondered aloud.

"Well, you haven't died yet, so I'd say yes," Sui confirmed.

The redhead giggled. A comfortable silence followed before she whispered to him, "Suigetsu? Your charka doesn't disgust me."

"No?"

"Well," she hummed; a comforted smile upturned her cheeks. "Not _completely_," she amended.

Suigetsu laughed.

* * *

Naruto's fingers brushed against what felt like glass. A grin spread across his foolish features. "Kakashi-sensei! I think I found it!" he shouted, digging with more dynamism. Piles of thin sand were stalked behind him.

Lerō hissed at the nearly uncovered window. His tail swept with more enthusiasm. Was it just him, or did he see a pale white hand, elegant and familiar in the way it moved?

Akamaru was clawing at the window, paws covered by sand. The speed of his paws quickened and soon uncovered the upper half of the window, unlatched. He whined at it, and Kiba picked out grains of sand from the cracks. Success rang through the bones of all six of them. Shikamaru dusted away the grime of kami knew how many years. Kakashi opened it, and a gust of cold air hit his face. Inside, loveseats and sofas and armchairs greeted him. No, this place wasn't abandoned. It smelled of sex and drugs.

Lerō slithered inside with no worry, as if he knew where he was going. He _knew_ something here, Naruto thought suddenly. Sakura was in here! "Move it, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto yelled, and jumped in feet first elegantly. "Come on in," Naruto invited. "Other than the _stench_ in here, it's pretty." His invitation was taken when the rest followed. Akamaru landed deftly on his paws. "Hey, anyone know where Lerō went?"

The yellow snake was no longer in the room.

"_Uchiha-domo!_"

Naruto's head snapped to where the feminine shout came from. A small girl of less than thirteen with brown hair cowered in a corner. "_Gomi_," Naruto cussed. The little girl's eyes were wide and scared; her whole body trembled. Naruto wasn't sure what she was afraid of: the team of strange men come to do kami knew what or the fact that Sasuke might, in fact, kill her for not being able to fight them off. "Well," Naruto huffed, "at least we know Sasuke _is_ here."

* * *

**I've decided that during the school year, I'm going to focus on**_**school**_**. Through long weekends or holiday brakes, I'll do my best to update **_**Kidnapping **_**but **_**I **__**cannot**__** promise anything**_**. I'm going to do my best to upload one-shots and such; I'll even write chapters of **_**Kidnapping **_**but if it isn't done, I won't put it up on FF. I'm so sorry. I am currently failing Algebra—mind you, I'm only a middle-schooler, taking high school-level math—and I'm trying to **_**not**_** get kicked out of it. So…yup. I tried making this one decently long and SasuSaku/SuiKa filled, but…**

**Hey, at least Sasuke and Sakura kissed, right?**

**R&R, please.**


	36. Chapter 36

**The only Japanese will be names and cuss words (unless I can't find them). And they still will have the asterisks (*) and translations in at the bottom. If they're not here, they're in a previous chapter. Unimportant names—like store names that are irrelevant to the story and there for visual's sake—will be in English.**

**Standard disclaimer applied.**

* * *

The second reunion of the once-great Team Seven was like the falling of boulders. Silence so loud it echoed befell them; it was a thick blanket, waiting to be kicked off in a fit. Naruto stared, wide-eyed, at the sight of Sasuke and Sakura, standing closer than one would ever expect. His eyes, the color of a sunny and cloudless sky, twitched. He didn't know whether to be happy and excited, shocked and surprised, or angry and perplexed. Here stood half of his surrogate family, and he was standing like a fool.

Was it just him, or were Sakura's eyes brighter? Brighter as in apple-green bright, as in sparkling ginger-ale bright? That had to be a good thing. But they'd gotten brighter while _here_, in the Sound's secret capital; that _couldn't _be good. A dimming red blush dusted over her alabaster cheeks like the dirt partials that danced in the air—everywhere and nowhere at the same time. She just _gaped_ at him and the rest of them, just staring as if this were the most shocking thing to happen since finding Sasuke that first time. _Being found_ was a lot less exciting than _finding_. Her arm was _just_ brushing against Sasuke's and, though her arm was a bolt of lightning at the touch, she stood as still as she could, not wanting to be that first boulder to fall and cause the avalanche. If it broke to a fight, whom would she side with?

She didn't even know the answer.

Sasuke was ridged. He stood as straight as a fencepost, muscles locked in place as he took in the team to infiltrate his perfect hideout. It was foolproof, but not Naruto-proof; he should have known. He'd gotten too cocky. He should have redone the genjutsu the second he got back.

Naruto, of course, was just standing there—_just like he was_, but Sasuke didn't want to think that—staring. His ridiculous black and orange Halloween-esque uniform was donned, but his trademark grin had slipped off long before he'd seen Sasuke. Similarly, the Nara was gaping at Sakura, tiny irises wide with shock. He was twitching, holding a weapon in his hand, ready to attack or to be attacked—preferably the former. The dog had his head tilted, one eye squinted, and mouth in a tiny O; disbelief covered his expression. Meanwhile, his pet snarled violently. And Kakashi had a lazy smile on his face, as if he wasn't worried in the least bit for himself, his team, or his ex-students.

A snake hissed; the first boulder fell and the silence was broken.

Sakura wrapped her hand around Sasuke's bicep, a reminder that she wasn't up for a fight and that she would hold him down if it came to that; that she could run in between them like she had that time on the hospital roof and that she would _stop _the fight if it cost her as much as her life. She turned her head so fast that it would have given an untrained person whiplash. "Go," she dismissed the maid, a sense of urgency in her voice. It was barely above a whisper, but they all heard it nonetheless.

"Teme*," Naruto said, his voice loud though he was trying his damned best not to stab his ex-best-friend—though Naruto still thought that somewhere in the coldest cockles of his heart, Sasuke was still his best friend—in the charka-points and drag him home. His expression was under control now, and his eyes were narrowed angrily. "We're taking you home!" He stole a glance at Sakura, who had her hand holding Sasuke's arm, he noticed. Naruto sure as jigoku hoped that meant she was going to restrain him if worst came to worst. "Right, Sakura-chan!" he added with a joy he did not feel.

Sakura opened her mouth to answer, but it floundered up and down, wordless.

Sasuke snorted. "Tch," he grunted, lips twitching to a scowl. He purposely took his arm out of Sakura's grip and wrapped it around her waist, pulling her closer like a master to a slave or an animal tamer to a lion. There was something else to the way he held her though, and it was neither possessive nor prideful. It was _scared_. He was _terrified_ of Sakura siding against him, now that she was given the choice. Not that he would ever admit it to anyone—_ever_—not even himself. "Dobe*," he spat at Naruto.

Sakura blushed at the contact, but kept desperately quite, leaving both of her friends to wonder what was going through that smart head of hers. But honestly, she didn't even know. Her thoughts were jumbled and unorganized, cutting each other off as they entered her head. It was like a mental version of Tsunade's desk. She didn't know what to do. There was Sasuke—hopelessly sweet Sasuke, silent in his offers but honest Sasuke, corrupted Sasuke, helpful Sasuke, secretly loving Sasuke—and there was Naruto—idiotic Naruto, playful Naruto, naïve Naruto, happy-go-lucky Naruto. What would happen if Sasuke was betrayed again? He'd just started to trust her. He'd been deceived by his brother, by his village, by his sensei, and by Kami knew what else. She couldn't do that to Sasuke. But she couldn't do that to her village either.

Kakashi couldn't help a smile. How like him. He broke the invisible wall between them and crossed to the other side. Arms crossed, he said a very Kakashi comment. "Is she as good in bed as she is on the battlefield?" He almost laughed.

Sakura turned red from head to toe. She pulled back from Sasuke, jaw on the floor. She sputtered, eye twitching. Her hand smacked her sensei; the sound of it was like a bullwhip slicing through air. "Sensei!" she shouted, the pulled back a fist.

But a monotonous voice snapped her fist back down to her side. "Do you want this to turn into a fight?" Sasuke asked. His words hinted at another meaning; that _he _didn't want this to turn into a fight. Sakura glanced up at him, back at her perverted ex-sensei. She scowled a glower that reminded them all of the saying _if looks could kill_ and crossed her arms. Sasuke risked a smirk at her. Then he turned to Kakashi, expression unreadable even to someone as familiar with him as Kakashi. "I've a proposition," he deadpanned as he sneaked a hand around Sakura's wrist. His onyx eyes were flat and he stared at the silver-haired copy-nin as if he weren't once the only family he'd known; as if he were only a stranger.

Kakashi blinked at him with his one visible eye. He'd never known Sasuke to be so…_calm_. Act first; think later—that's what he usually did, that's where he and Naruto were the same.

Naruto was the one to answer. "What kind of propo—pro—p—" Naruto couldn't say the word. He frowned, eyes crossing, at his traitorous tongue and asked instead, "What kind of proposal?"

Akamaru snarled and barked he was shushed by a pat on the head from Kiba. Shikamaru muttered his catchphrase under his breath, pretending to be calm. But who, in his position, would be calm? Honestly.

"The kind that stops you from worrying about my attacking Konoha." Sasuke offered them a smirk—a _smirk_. It was a sight they hadn't seen in years.

Naruto paused for a second, shocked. Maybe Sakura actually changed his point of view. Although how she got here was a mystery to him—one he intended to find out soon. Soon though, he returned the smirk with a kindhearted grin. "Well I'm all for it. Who's with me?" he asked. The back of his orange jumpsuit was facing his team soon enough; he was resting a hand on Sasuke's shoulder as if nothing had ever happened, smiling at him, trying to be his friend again like the old days, annoying the hell out of him.

* * *

Robāto didn't know what to do or what to feel. How long had it been since he'd seen or heard from his daughter? Far too long. Hate his daughter as he might—and he was starting to wonder if he really did _hate_ her—he was her father; she was the fruit of his looms, of course he was worried. Mayhap he shouldn't have taught her as he did; mayhap she was too weak for that. It would have been better for him to have just grounded her or something weak like that. She would have learned.

But when did he every whip her for something she actually did? Sometimes, Robāto hated to admit, he would do it just because she reminded him too much of her mother, with those big green eyes of hers. Starved in this cell and caked in what he hoped was mud, he realized that. What if his father had treated him with as much hate as he had Sakura? Kami knows he wouldn't be the blacksmith he was.

The redheaded inmate stood from his concrete bed. He walked over to the dirty sink. It was caked in as much grime and mud as he was; the spigot was rusted over and smelled of drying blood like most old metals did. The metal was turning yellow where it wasn't rusty. Robāto frowned, glaring at his reflection in the yellowish mirror that the faucet created. Eyes of navy blue—dimmed by the gold of the faucet—glared back up at him; one of them had been beaten into a purplish color. It had been stupid of him to challenge a man twice his size—impossible as that may seem—but Robāto didn't see it as such. Someone insults him, he protects himself, even if he had his hands in manacles and feet in shackles—which he had, at the time.

The water rushed through the spigot and into his waiting palms. The water smelled just as bad as the oxidized faucet. Nevertheless, the pompous man splashed it up over his face, scrubbing away whatever grime he could. It wasn't much; the water was just as filthy.

"Shut that off, Red!" a rather girlish voice ordered. Robāto's cellmate was a pudgy small man, in jail for robbing the Yamanaka flower shop. His blue hair peeked from over the top bunk of the horrid beds. "Can't you see I want some peace and quite?"

Robāto turned the water pressure up higher. "Make me," he growled. There was no way in jigoku that a man half his size who was in jail for something as small as a robbing was going to make Haruno Robāto his mesu. The blue-haired cellmate hopped down, landing on his fat feet. He pulled back that chunky fist that looked like a small turkey and swung.

Robāto ducked, grinning an evil grin, and shouted for the guards. That same one that'd given him the first black eye days back came to his call. He gave a gust of air from his cheeks as he asked, "_What_, dipshits?" Really, the only reason he took this job was to make the lowest of the low feel like the lowest of the low. Why else? They deserved no better.

"He attacked me," Robāto simply said, sounding like the single haughtiest man in the history of snooty men—including nobles.

The guard rolled his eyes. "Not so tough now, with men, huh, shiri?" he barked. Robāto waited as the brunette fished out keys and unlocked the door. "C'mon."

* * *

Naruto squinted his eyes at the snakelike woman before him. "Don't I know you?" he asked, leaning forward in the chair. Kakashi, being the man that he was, had had only Shikamaru come with him into Sasuke's office, fearing that something about Sasuke's offer would offend Naruto in one way or another and risk the chance of him actually going through with it. He'd been forced to stay in the dinning room along with Sakura, who'd stayed of her own free choice and shocked Naruto with the fact that she'd been allowed to do whatever she pleased, two toddlers, a black-haired woman, and that snake-lady that reminded him of Orochimaru.

Sakura backhanded Naruto. The blonde rubbed the back of his head and pouted at her, while Sakura glared at him playfully. "That's my _mom_, Naruto," Sakura growled at him. "Sometimes I think you make all the blonde jokes completely true."

Naruto's pout turned into a gasp. "Why are you so _cruel_, Sakura-chan?" he whined.

Sakura stared at him, dumbfounded. "_That_'s what you notice about that sentence, Naruto?" she asked, mouth ajar. Her jade eyes twitched lightly. "My _mom_ is right next to you. My _mother_—best of the best, missing for four years—is next to you, and all you can say is that I'm _mean_?" The vein in her forehead was practically ready to pop.

Naruto gave her a wide-mouthed smile, sticking up two fingers in the international peace sign. His eyes all but sparkled in his innocence. "I'm just kidding, Sakura-chan!" he announced. Honestly, he was too overjoyed to be in the Sound's lair without being attacked by all who saw—to be _inside_ Sasuke's secret home by mutual agreement, to not have to fight tooth and nail just to undoubtedly _fail_ at getting him back, to not have a Chidori thrown at his face for simply existing—to be intimidated by Sakura's half-teasing anger. Team Seven's second reunion was like being on Cloud Nine to the blonde. He was ready to throw an arm around Sakura's shoulders and another around Sasuke's and just walk into the sunset like a cheesy chick-flick.

The Uzumaki shot a glance at Sakura's mother. The Orochimaru look-alike smiled nicely at him, a kind sparkle in her malachite eyes. "Hey, Naruto," she greeted him as if she were his own mother, comfortable and knowing. "Remember me?"

Naruto offered another of his overconfident smiles. "The cookie lady!" he instantly remembered. When he wasn't successful in forcing the team into going to Ichiraku, Sakura had forced them to go to her mother's because of her amazing chocolate cookies. Sakura's mother nodded. "Still make those amazing cookies?"

"Ask my son," Hebia offered, pointing to a head of closely-shaven brown hair. It was all the two Konoha ninja could see; Naruto because the boy was facing away, Kiba because his eyes were closed. "Burūsu, come here, baby," she called. The boy turned around and toddled over to his mother. He turned around to face the two visitors, green eyes wide in innocent question. The red streaks on his cheeks seemed even more scarlet now, itty-bitty doglike cuspids more visible in his open-mouthed smile. He gripped the skin of his mother's knee.

Naruto stared. A jabbed elbow at Kiba's ribs made the Inzuka's eyes open and narrow, staring at Naruto. "What the jigoku was that for, you blonde frog?" he shouted sharply. Naruto just pointed at Burūsu, his words jumping around in his throat, not quite coming out. "Uh…" Kiba said, staring just as wide-eyed as Naruto. "Who's that? And why does he look like my dad?"

Hebia's hands swooped down; she had Burūsu on her lap just as quickly as ever. Resting her black-haired head on her son's shoulder, she grabbed the boy's chubby arm and waved over to Kiba. "Kiba, say hello to Inzuka Burūsu," she said. Her green snake eyes peered up at the older boy's expression. His eyes were wide, his mouth ajar. "Te* is his father, too, Kiba."

Kiba's eyes widened even further, if that was physically possible. His mouth twitched. The change in his skin tone was obvious.

"Kiba-nī-kun," Burūsu called shyly. His green eyes were sad; Kiba obviously didn't accept him as Sakura had.

* * *

Sasuke's eyes showed no emotion. If they had, the only person who would have known to read it would have been Sakura. His onyx eyes were hooded and his mouth was in a loose line. He looked and sounded as if he were the most relaxed person in the world. He looked over the two in his office as if they were nothing more than a troop sent to spy on Konoha. Normal. Expected. Under control. He toyed with a pen in his hand as he looked over Kakashi.

"You can't be serious!" Kakashi shouted, black eyes wide. The perpetual lazy look in his eye was gone, replaced by disbelief and anger. He would have preferred a fight to this. "You—you—" he stuttered. The words were stuck in his mouth; his Adam's apple bobbed angrily. A growl vibrated through him from the very pit of his stomach. He knotted his hands into his silver hair, tugging on the fistfuls as if he wished he could rip them out. Another growl resounded, pointed up at the brown ceiling. Then the ex-sensei snapped his head down, stabbing his stare at Sasuke. "Sasuke, is there any other way? You can't seriously want me to ask Tsunade to _do_ something like that!"

Sasuke just stared at him, unblinkingly. "Either this, or—"

Kakashi let out an angered, confused shout again. Either what he was propositioning, or an all out war. A _war_. Not just spying, not just trying and failing to burn down Konoha. _A war_. "I _know_," the silver-haired man barked. Sasuke's glare became pointed, but he held his tongue. He knew perfectly well what he was asking for, the problems it would cause. "But think it over! Think of the effects on the village! You can't expect me to do this!"

Sasuke crossed his arms over his chest. The sinews of his arms popped out from under his pale skin. The black of his sleeveless shirt made his skin pop, something he'd caught Sakura ogling at repeatedly, though he doubted she herself noticed. His perfect lips moved with deliberate ease. "The village no longer concerns me," he declared. "My concerns are the Sound, the Sand, and my team. However, I could cut the Sound out of the equation; I could _make_ Konoha my concern. I could disband any and every teams against you. I could protect the Hidden Leaf Village. My only condition is—"

Kakashi pulled at his hair. "I know the imaimashī condition!" he shouted. There wasn't a way in jigoku he could stand to hear Sasuke name his circumstance again. He would have chosen to be beaten bloody and half-dead over this. Eternal protection from the last Uchiha, his team, and his village in return for _one_ person. But he had to have chosen the _one_ person that would have caused problems! One of the two people that would have been a complete and utter stop. It was so predictable of him. Kakashi took a deep breath. "I have to tell the Hokage before I do anything, Sasuke," Kakashi answered. His voice was so calm compared to the shaking, raw anger that characterized it before.

"I realize this," Sasuke answered as if he were talking to a diplomat. His voice was as calm as a rolling ocean. "I know how long it takes for messenger birds to fly from here to Konoha. You can stay here with _us_ for that time, and longer if Tsunade wants. Rather, if she needs time to think it over. A week at longest." He emphasized the word "us," stabbing his condition further into Kakashi's mind.

Kakashi sighed. The surrender was clear. There was no winning this. The hideout was crawling with ninja. There was no way to grab Sakura and her mother—which he of course recognized—and run away with only minimal injuries. And that was implying that they wanted to go with them at all. If they didn't? The causalities were to be undoubtedly larger. "Give me a pen and paper," he said, running his hands through his hair.

Sasuke smirked. Victory was flowing through him like blood. He threw the pen he played with over his desktop. It spun on the surface and landed in Kakashi's waiting hand. "Need a hawk?" he offered. Normal messenger birds were so much slower than his hawk.

Kakashi pressed his lips together. "How fast are they?" He didn't know if he was asking because he wanted to prolong the answer, or be put out of the torturous suspense. The pen ran over paper, making a scribbling sound.

Sasuke smirked proudly. It almost shocked Kakashi how much Sasuke was showing emotion; then he remembered that Sasuke had been spending the last week or so with Sakura, and that Sakura looked much happier now too. "Travel time's half that of a pidgin," he stated. Kakashi nodded, rolling the page up and taking a ribbon from Sasuke. He made a knot that would take years or a pair a scissors to undo and put it on Sasuke's desk. The Uchiha took it with a smirk and a sparkle in his eyes. "I'll send it out." He nodded at the door. "Go catch up with Sakura."

There was no need to say why, no need to remind him that not much could have happened in a week. Although his request said otherwise.

Kakashi left, followed by the silent Shikamaru. Outrage was obvious in the way the shadow ninja stamped his walk. Sasuke set to sending the message.

* * *

Sakura shook her leg, tapping it on the stone floor, and scooped up Burūsu, making him burry his face into her pink hair. She stared at Kiba. "He's a good kid, Kiba. Really good," she said, threading her hand through her brother's black hair. The small Inzuka glanced at Kiba.

Hebia chewed on the inside of her lip. "I know the way he came here isn't very pleasing," she said, swallowing. What if Kiba hated Burūsu? What if he didn't so much as give the boy a chance? She didn't know Kiba as well as she did Sakura; there was nothing connecting her to the boy other than her drunken one-night stand with his father. She didn't have a clue what he'd do.

Burūsu struggled in his sister's grip.

One of the silent onlookers spoke up. It was the huge one with the orange hair. The one on file called Jūgo. "He's wonderful to have around," he vouched. His voice was low and gravely, strong and unsure.

Kiba stared at the kid's green eyes. Hebia's green eyes. _This_ was why his mother had left Te.

"Stop being such a prick, Kiba!" Naruto shouted. It took him all he had to not slap the tracker upside the head like Sakura had just minutes ago. "If I had an unknown little brother, Kami knows I'd be all over the midget," he said. "Stop being such a wuss." The blonde stood up, walking over to the boy hidden in Sakura's arms. "Aren't there two kids here? Does Burūsu have a brother?" He peered over the Spanish-looking woman who watched over the other one. He stopped dead. "Has Itachi been reborn?"

"No," a familiar voice droned. Sasuke rested a hand on Sakura's shoulder. "That's my nephew."

Naruto's jaw almost dropped to the floor. "_Holy cheese sticks_!" he shouted so loud it echoed. "There are babies left and right today, aren't there? Imaimashī, Sasuke, next you're going to tell me that redhead Karin chick's having your baby!"

Sakura let the struggling child in her arms go and crossed her arms as Burūsu walked over to his shocked half-brother. "Over my dead body," Sakura snorted.

"Still?" Naruto asked, pursing his lips. He'd always known Sakura was still head over heels for Sasuke, even during that short time she tried to date him; he just hadn't known she'd be so eager to admit it.

A smirk blessed Sasuke's features. In a rare bout of public affection, he swooped down to lay a kiss on Sakura's forehead. Their second of many, had it been up to him.

Burūsu pulled on Kiba's pants. A pair of thin black pupils with black irises looked down at him. "Don't you like me, Nī-kun?" His voice was innocent and soft. He was only looking for acceptance.

Kiba stared. Red birthmarks. _Red_ birthmarks. Red birthmarks crossing down his cheeks. _Down his cheeks, red birthmarks_.

"Nī-kun?"

Kiba ran a hand through his brown hair. He sighed as he looked down at the little boy. He'd never been called Nī-kun before. The boy pursed his lips; saltwater filled his jade eyes. "Oh," Kiba sighed again, flying down to pick up Burūsu. "You are just the cutest."

* * *

"Feeling better, Karin?"

The redhead in question sniffled and rubbed a hand under her nose. "Yeah," she said. Karin lifted her head from Suigetsu's lap. She'd rested it there long ago, unthinkingly. Now, the proximity of Suigetsu himself was making her blush. When did that happen? "You think we should go check up on them?"

Suigetsu put his hands on Karin's messy hair. He pushed her down lightly back onto his lap. "Nah," he answered, shrugging. "They're fine." With his fingers, he set to work on the knots in her scarlet hair. "Twenty questions?"

Karin closed her red eyes at the feel of Suigetsu's fingers in her hair. "Mhmm," she murmured.

Suigetsu smiled, readying the most embarrassing questions in his mind.

* * *

**Teme—bastard, which Naruto calls Sasuke, _duh_**

**Dobe—loser, which of course Sasuke calls Naruto, _d to the uh_**

**Mesu—bitch**

**Te—manus (another word for fang)**

**Imaimashī—damn(ed)**

**What do you think is Sasuke's condition? How's the story coming along?**

**R&R!**


	37. Chapter 37

**The only Japanese will be names and cuss words (unless I can't find them). And they still will have the asterisks (*) and translations in at the bottom. If they're not here, they're in a previous chapter. Unimportant names—like store names that are irrelevant to the story and there for visual's sake—will be in English.**

**JUST TWO MORE REVIEWS, PLEASE! GET ME TO _AT LEAST _200!**

**Standard disclaimer applied.**

* * *

Shizune raced into Tsunade's office. A scroll was in her hands, and her hands were shaking. The scroll had been unrolled, read, and rolled again in a rush. Now Shizune stormed into the cluttered room, her eyes wide ovals of frantic horror. "Tsunade! _Tsunade!_" she yelled, ignoring any suffix she might have added before. There was too much she was worried about to even bother with rank, let alone politeness. "Tsunade, there's been a hawk. _A hawk_, with a message labeled '_urgent_' in big red letters!"

Tsunade rolled her hazel eyes, patting her pink pig's head. She waved a hand to the papers all around her. It wasn't just her desk that was covered in tedious papers; they were everywhere now. Over filing cabinets, on sofas, over chairs, piling on the floor even. Her waved hand covered over all of those papers. "Yeah?" she asked. Her voice was slurred, but not enough. Shizune knew Tsunade was acting, trying to lose herself in her Sake but failing so miserably she had to fake it to herself. "So were half of these, but they haven't really taken my attention."

Shizune stared at her boss and best friend, her wide eyes incredulous. If there ever was a time when she hated—_loathed_—Tsunade's horrid drinking problem, it was now. Where was the Tsunade that deserved the title Hokage? Where was the Tsunade that jumped to action once one of hers was in trouble?

TonTon squealed. She jumped out of the blonde's iron grip and trampled over the many papers scattered all over the floor. Her little hooved feet crumpled the papers as she shot out the door, her little pearls jangling.

Shizune twitched. Then she opened the scroll up with a decisive sweep. "_ 'Tsunade,' _" she read. Her eyes pierced through the page; her voice was clipped and short as she read aloud the terrifying words that were written on the page. " _'We found Sasuke—our fears were rightly grounded, he has Sakura. She's perfectly fine and intact. She looks better than ever.' _" This wasn't worrying. This was actually pretty reassuring. The worst was still to come. " _'He has her healthy and warm and, actually, she looks happy—_gleeful_, even. Because of her somehow changing his mind, Sasuke has offered us something. Something wonderful—something we'd trade the world for. Uchiha Sasuke has offered us to disband all things against Konoha, even the Akasuki. He even offered us his _protection_. All at the cost of one thing, one person, one of the most valuable people we have.'_ "

Tsunade sat at attention, watching, waiting, and listening. She had a feeling she knew where this was going. She didn't like it. When Shizune looked up, Tsunade swallowed and nodded.

Three simple words made up the last sentence. Shizune read it with a heavy heart. "_ 'He wants Sakura.' _"

Tsunade's eyes stoned over and she stood, knocking the chair back with how quickly she got up. The offer was a good one; she'd have to admit. But there was no way in jigoku—even if the place _froze over_—that'd she'd hand over her Sakura, her student, her friend, _her weapon_.

* * *

Kakashi had been in a foul mood since talking to Sasuke; it made Sakura wonder what happened. Her old sensei sat on her bed, glaring off into the distance, picking at his forehead protector. He looked as if he was itching to take it off, something he often avoided as much as possible. His elbow was digging deep into his black pants, undoubtedly leaving a mark, while the palm of the same arm dug into his cheek. Meanwhile, Kiba lay down on the bed, poking Burūsu's nose and teasing him about his snake-eyes. Shikamaru sat at the desk that the barren room had and pulled black scrolls from the bookshelves with scarce choices. Naruto had gone chasing after Sasuke, eager to have his questions answered and his best friend back—even if he'd tried to kill him…repeatedly.

Kiba pressed his fingers to Burūsu's nose. "You can't hide that thing from me!" Kiba announced when the toddler attempted to hide his nose behind his tiny little pudgy hands. Burūsu dug himself deeper into Sakura's lap. The boy was on Sakura's, and Kiba's head was lying on Burūsu's lap. The tracker stuck his tongue out at his newly found little brother and chuckled at him. Kiba wouldn't go as far as to say he "loved" the kid yet—he'd met him half an hour ago, so of course he didn't _love_ the kid yet. It was like being the youngest of your family, loving every second you were babied and spoiled, and suddenly being told your mother was pregnant. Suddenly you weren't the sweetest, cutest little baby ever; suddenly you were a grown boy and there was someone who needed _you _to take care of him. At first you weren't thrilled. But you eventually grew to it, putting your best foot forward at being the big brother. And it all started when you first saw your little sibling's cute little face. You grew soft until someone finally smacked sense into you and you saw that your baby brother was _the cutest_ _thing_.

It didn't help that the child was the fruit of a drunken Christmas party. But it could be worse, Kiba knew; he could be Naruto—never having known his parents or hugged them, let alone ever being angry over their separation—or Sasuke—having known his parents and watched them die by the hands of his own brother—or Sakura, who's father was an abusive bastard and who's mother had left her in the same bastard's hands for fear.

Wow did ninjas have a lot of family problems. And that was just _one _team.

Burūsu giggled, reaching down to poke Kiba's nose. "I like my family, Nī-kun, Nee-sama!"

Kiba offered Burūsu an idiotically large smile. "Imaimashī right you do!" he shouted. "I'm in it!"

Sakura backhanded the sharp-toothed Inuzuka. "He's _five_, Kiba!"

"That's around the time I started cursing!" he defended himself.

Shikamaru opened a black scroll with what looked like an infinite amount of characters. He scowled. "Troublesome teammates," he muttered, staring down at the scroll with feigned interest. It wasn't fooling anyone; there was boredom in his eyes. "Kakashi." His voice hinted that another one of his catch phrases were on the way. "Where _we_ going home?"

The emphasis on the "we" made Sakura wonder what "we" he meant—"we" as in Kakashi, Kiba, Naruto, and he, or "we" as in Kakashi, Kiba, Naruto, Shikamaru _and_ her, or as in Kakashi, Kiba, Naruto, Shikamaru, _and_ her, _and_ Sasuke. There were a countless quantity of "we" he could have meant. She didn't know how to feel about it if he was excluding her, and even less if he was _in_cluding her. Sakura frowned.

"We can't go back to Konoha until we get Tsunade's okay," Kakashi reminded him, kneading harder into the skin of his cheek. His voice had lost the boring drag it always had. There was no trace of his "I got lost on the path of life" attitude. His tone was business and annoyance and anger. None of the ever-present laziness hid behind it. It was a scary tone. "And I imaimashī hope we don't get an okay," he muttered. It was almost unfathomable how Shikamaru could look so indifferent after hearing what he had, especially since Shikamaru was closer to Sakura than sometimes Kakashi was. _Unfathomable_. How could he _not_ be on the very edge of boiling over? Shikamaru wasn't close to Sasuke, and probably never would be now. Kakashi, on the other hand, looked to the Uchiha as a son, just as he did Naruto and Sakura as a daughter. He'd said when he'd met them that he didn't like kids—and that hadn't changed. He still didn't like kids. Now he just liked _three_ kids more than he used to.

Kakashi remembered saying to Sasuke, _"No matter how far Orochimaru fell, he still loved him… Now I know how the Third Hokage felt."_ And he still understood how the God of Shinobi felt. How it felt to have one of your very own, one you've trained and had taken under your wing, turn. How it felt to see someone you taught and _loved_ turn acidic. And Kakashi saw how much better Sasuke had gotten since the last time he'd seen him. His eyes weren't like pebbles anymore, hard and meaninglessly emotionless. No, now those black eyes shined like precious stones, tough and lasting and _readable_. Now Kakashi could _see_ the emotions within the confines of those dark eyes, as he sometimes could when Sasuke was a kid.

And Kakashi knew it was all because of Sakura. _Sakura_. That was why he was asking for her now. The _idiot_ had fallen in love. To jigoku with his "no bonds," the idiot had _fallen in love_. _Uchiha Sasuke had fallen in love_. That was the one reason for Sakura's part in the treaty. It wasn't because she was a Senshi Clan member, though he might try to convince Konoha it was because of that; that was if he even knew she was one of the last Senshi on Konoha's side. Kakashi _wanted_ Sasuke on their side, back to Konoha. He _wanted_ his team back more than Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke did. But having to sacrifice one of them to get that team back was unthinkable. If Sasuke came back, all would be well and the world would be right again. But giving up Sakura so that Sasuke became an _ally_, not one of them, was unthinkable. Not just because she was Sakura, Konoha's Cheery Blossom, medical ninja, last of the Senshi clan, but because she was Sakura, Haruno Sakura, Hatake Kakashi's ex-student, Uzumaki Naruto's best friend, Godaime Hokage Tsunade's student and friend.

Sakura hit Kakashi on the head. "_Kakashi_," she hissed a warning.

"Yeah, because the kid hasn't heard enough from Sasuke," the copy ninja growled. He was lost in thought, not paying attention anymore. That warranted him another backhand.

Sakura waved off her hand as if it had been a hot gun. "I'm going to Sasuke's room. Anyone coming with?" Naruto had most likely chased Sasuke into the huge room.

An immediate, synchronized "No" came from all three of them, while Burūsu was too distracted to even consider the words.

* * *

Suigetsu and Karin were playing Twenty Questions, oblivious to the on-goings of the outside world.

"We all know _you've_ done it," Karin said, hugging her legs to her. Her back pressed to the cream wall of her room near the room. "I mean, you've _paid_ girls for it—which is stupid, because I think you could do perfectly well at a bar on your own."

Sui raised an eyebrow. "You do, do you?" he asked. He was sitting on Karin's bed, back to the other wall—her bed was set in a corner of the room—one of his arms on his raised leg. "That is interesting information. I think I might use it against you one of these days."

"Do it and I'll kill you," Karin threatened. "Anything said, thought, or done within this game of Twenty Questions remains in this room. Got it?"

Sui gave a sarcastic salute. "Ma'am, yes, ma'am!"

Karin gave an ironic smile. "Down, solider," she ordered, a girlish giggle hidden behind the words. When Suigetsu grinned widely at her, she let the giggle out. "Back to the game," she said. "What, other than sex, _have_ you done?"

"To be honest?" Suigetsu asked. Karin rolled her eyes and nodded. It was a game of Twenty Questions, of course he had to be honest! "I thought I had HIV once. And there was that one time I was so drunk I think a man okasa* me," he admitted. "I'm not sure though. I don't remember."

Karin's eyes knitted together. "You _don't remember?_"

Suigetsu put his hands up in defense. "I'm an irresponsible drinker—so sue me."

Karin looked stupefied. "How would that _work_? Like, where would it go _in_?"

Sui stared at her as if she were stupid. "You have a hole that men have too," he reminded her.

"You mean up the…" Karin gagged. "Oh, Kami."

Sui shrugged. "Don't knock it till you try it," he warned. "It actually feels awesome—_I think_. I don't remember. But I remember _getting_ it, not giving it. When you're pounding in from behind, muscles around you _everywhere_, you don't really think about the fact that feces comes out of that hole."

He smiled as Karin gagged again, pulling her hands up to cover her ears. "I will _never_ play Twenty Questions with you again."

"You've only asked me ten questions, though," Sui objected.

"_Never,_" Karin emphasized. Her voice made Suigetsu laugh.

* * *

Sasuke held his head in both hands, eyes closed, as Naruto blathered on about Kami knows what. After then tenth "_Dattebayo!_" he'd stopped paying attention. This was part of the reason he'd left Konoha. Okay, so that was a lie, but still. The "_Believe it!_" was still as annoying as it had been five years ago. Another half hour of this, and Sasuke was sure he'd go insane.

"You're coming home! Believe it! And I know that because you haven't tried to punch me all day! Dattebayo!" Naruto shouted. He hopped around the room opening black curtains and letting in the scant orange rays of sunshine into the large room. "We _finally _got you back, Sasuke-teme! You haven't even said anything against it! Sakura made you go soft, teme! She made you go soft and convinced you to come home!" Was everything he said a shout? "You're going to love being back! It's always so warm in Konoha, nothing like the Sound where it gets freezing cold! I thought the desert would be warmer in winter than it is anywhere else, but, Sasuke, the Sound is so _messed up_! Finally, you'll get to experience a proper Konoha Christmas with us all again!" Make it end! "Did Sakura-chan tell you she and Shikamaru are like best friends now? He goes with her everywhere, if she can help it! She says it's all about the extra arms, but I think she's finally getting close to other guy friends, not just me and Sai—and now you again! Dattebayo! And Sai and Ino are going out—though I don't think Sai likes Ino too much, no matter how much he calls her 'Beautiful;' I mean, he calls Sakura 'Ugly,' so he's got his tastes mixed up." Who the jigoku was Sai? And why in his right mind would he call Sakura Ugly? "Oh, wait! You haven't met Sai yet, not properly! Well now you'll get to, and you can help me and Sakura beat manners into him! Although you barely have any yourself, so…!"

"Naruto!" Sasuke growled. "Naruto, _shut up_." It almost sounded like a plea. "I am _not_ going back—I am _never _going back."

Naruto froze; the heavy drape he was opening fell back into place. "But—"

Sasuke took a deep breath. Never being a man of many words, being around a wordy freak like Naruto was sometimes a relief when he was younger. It meant having something fill the emptiness inside his mind other than revengeful schemes. It meant rest from the loud silence of his quite thoughts. Now he needed words. "I will not return to Konoha. I am staying in the Sound." He took another breath; it was as if he was breathing all the breaths Naruto hadn't. "_With_ Sakura," he added.

Naruto blinked, taking time to process this information. He opened his mouth thrice to say something, only to let out a wordless gust of air. Finally, he said, "_What_?" His eyes were scrunched up and his mouth was open in disbelief, his whisker birthmarks looking like wrinkles in his confusion. Being a ninja sucked youth right out of you.

"I'm getting your Hokage's say so," Sasuke continued. It looked like it physically pained him to say he was getting _permission_. "Konoha and the Sound are to become allies. Nothing more. I offer a truce and my protection in return for Sakura."

"In return…" Naruto repeated, "for Sakura…" His blue eyes turned livid. "She _isn't_ an object!" he objected. "She _won't _want to stay, not if you _force_ her! You should know by now she isn't the weak girl we both risked our lives to protect! She's going to fight you and she's going _home_! Tsuande _won't_ let her stay!"

The had opened when Naruto had said "Tsuande." Sakura peaked through, a smile on her face as she walked to Sasuke's side, keeping a distance while taking the liberty to put her hand on his shoulder. "Won't let who stay?" she asked innocently.

* * *

**Okasa—fucked**

**AT LEAST TWO MORE, PLEASE! _PLEASE! _If you got me to 210, or 220, 222, for just this one chapter, I'd probably faint, so—_PLEASE_! I figure you'd waited enough so I made this nice and short, but hopefully as good as the others. (Is it?) I got kicked out of Algebra, so I'll be updating more often. That is if my parents don't go to court. I'll be moving with my stepfather in the summer, so there's your warning.**

**R&R!**


	38. Chapter 38

**The only Japanese will be names and cuss words (unless I can't find them). And they still will have the asterisks (*) and translations in at the bottom. If they're not here, they're in a previous chapter. Unimportant names—like store names that are irrelevant to the story and there for visual's sake—will be in English.**

**Standard disclaimer applied.**

* * *

People wanted to do the right thing. It was human nature, in even the earliest humans. What they think was the right thing, however, was based off events in their past, things that they've seen other people do before. And thus what some people perceive as _right_ and _correct_ was different from what others view as the same things. Peoples' gut feelings are often to do the right thing, and when they don't they feel guilty. But sometimes there are other factors that influence their decisions, whether they were right or wrong.

For example, say there was one girl, little and innocent and sweet as could be. And say there was a whole country of people, young to old, white to black to everything in between. Thousands of lives, innocent too. And say this country was under attack. Say the attackers wanted only one thing to stop their attack and ally with the country under seize. The country had seen what their attackers could do, had seen how great an ally their attacker could become. But the one thing that the attacker wants…was the girl, little and innocent and sweet as could be. To hand her over could mean certain doom for her. Giving her up would be hard, especially if the little girl was, say, the country's princess.

The _right_ thing to do would be to give the little girl to their attacker. One life in exchange for the lives of thousands—seems far more than fair, no? But there is something stopping their queen and her subjects from doing so. Their pride, their worry for their princess, stopping them from doing the right thing. The life of a country or the life of your daughter? Tough question. And if you were the country's queen? Unanswerable.

But eventually, she came to a decision, because an impasse was not good enough for their rival. And, though it pained her heart, the queen gave her daughter for the lives of her citizens. She and her daughter were praised for it, praised for their strength in character and strength of heart. Immortalized. Made goddesses.

Such a decision was made by Tsunade. At first, she was unsure. No—she was completely against it, against giving up her protégé and her _friend_. She wanted to flat out say no, and a few choice words along with it. However, she was Hokage and therefore not allowed so say something to a proposition as good and as just as the one Sasuke had offered. First and foremost in her mind should be the good of Konoha, not the good of one individual person. Not even if that one individual person was part of the fallen Senshi clan.

For once in her life, Tsunade actually look the treaty into serious consideration. Normally, she'd have brushed it aside as easily and as quickly as she would brush aside the idea of staying sober for a week. It was an insane treaty, _insane_. But it was _Sasuke_ she was talking about, not some simple insignificant country that could be brushed off as effortlessly as swatting a fly off her shoulder. It was _Sasuke_ and because it was Sasuke, Tsunade knew that it was a promise he would keep. Underneath Kakashi's simple, undetailed _"He wants Sakura" _was the fear that if Sasuke didn't get what he wanted, he would go on with his "down with Konoha" plans. It wasn't written, but it was shown in the angry quiver of Kakashi's penned letter.

For once, Tsunade actually considered the options.

Option A: Keep Sakura and risk a war with the Sound that had all the other Senshi. Though it was unlikely the clan would fight one of their own, it was a possibility that Konoha would have to face. One hundred fifty Senshi with the power to control and manipulate your sense of sight and smell, to create whatever illusion they felt like was plenty more powerful than one young Senshi who didn't know what the jigoku she was doing.

Option B: Give Sakura to Sasuke; leave her to her own devices now that Konoha had given her all the necessary implements to survive the intense conditions under Sasuke "care." Create relationships with the Sound and all those under its care. Most of the Senshi had gone to the Sound as it was, to escape all the requirements of having a bloodline trait—like being a ninja. And still half of those Senshi had been trained by their parents and their parents' parents. The Senshi were a close clan, no matter how many generations passed. By doing so, Konoha could become a great nation, better than it is already, below almost no one. All simply because their Hokage gave away their one secret weapon in exchange for a hundred plus forthright arms.

Tsunade might be a drunk, but heaven knew she wasn't stupid.

So it was with a heavy heart that she sent away the auburn hawk to its sender with a signed agreement.

* * *

There wasn't much to do in the Sound Palace. Tensions were flying high, constricting the airflow to a scared minimum of three breaths for every thirty seconds. No one dared to move quickly, as if any sudden movements could spell out their own deaths. Henchmen huddled close to each other, finding strength in numbers, though half of them disliked each other; maids and menservants twiddled their fingers and glanced up and down, unsure of whether they should keep with their monthly cleaning or wait for further orders. None of the important people were in the room—no Sasuke-domo, no Sakura-sama, no Karin-sama, no Suigetsu-sama or Jūgo-sama either to be scared of offending. No one and nothing to make anyone terrified for their lives—other than the obvious tension that flowed endlessly throughout the underground palace.

Everyone was simply terrified that if they made the wrong move, someone else would go reporting it to Sasuke-domo in order to get recognition. And with the foul mood that half the important people were in, there was no telling what the Master might do. The wrong move at the wrong moment could be the downfall of them all.

Hebia pressed her thick red lips together and leaned against the threshold of the lounge. She frowned at the clusters of servants. There was an utter fear tensing all their muscles, even the little concubines and their children. "Sasuke is in no bad mood," she said suddenly, feeling the need to relieve them some fear. "He just wrote a treaty between himself, the Sound, and Konoha. He's waiting for a response, so there's no need to hide behind the curtains. He isn't in a foul mood. He's…actually…very happy."

The Snake Sanin's younger twin almost looked shocked at her own words, though they were nothing but the truth. She had never said that Sasuke was _happy_, let alone meant it. It was a shock that it was her own daughter bringing him his joy, too—it was a shock that she could _see_ her daughter, more so. She never thought she'd be able to again, no matter what she'd told herself when she went off with Orochimaru. She'd never be able to forgive herself for her moment of weakness. She had been a ninja when she married, _a ninja_. And she'd been terrified beyond belief of her silversmith husband. Terrified of a lowly, unworthy silversmith who was at least six years her younger. Hebia chewed on the inside of her cheek, ashamed of her own actions. She'd done horrible things as a young girl, part including marrying so far out of her age-group.

Thank Kami she'd found Sho-kun.

When no one moved, Hebia clapped her hands. "Come on now, there's still work to be done, and we've all got to do it." The tones of a mother was coating her words, making people separate from their cliques and do as told. Hebia smiled at the sight, grabbing her own rubber gloves and Windex.

As she cleaned, Hebia remembered the first time she'd come to the palace.

She'd waited for Orochimaru to pick her up, tapping her foot furiously when he was late for their meeting at their rendezvous point. He'd come out of the shadows, as he often tended to do, with his right-hand man by his side. "_S-s-s-s-s-s-_si_s-s-s-s_ter," Orochimaru had said. "Where i_s-s-s-s_ my Pinky?"

"I didn't have time to take her from her father," she remembered saying, cringing slightly. "I thought we might pick her up together."

Oreo had shaken his head, looking out from his golden eyes sadly. "_S-s-s-s-s_he'll be better off in Konoha," he'd said. "_S-s-s-s-s_he is- _s-s-s-s-s_n't too different."

Hebia remembered being outraged. There was no way in jigoku she was leaving her baby girl with her father. "No! Sakura's coming with us, even if I have to go back and find her myself!"

Orochimaru shook his head again. "Hebia, be rea_s-s-s-s-s_onable. I won't be back here if you leave. It is_-s-s-s_ dangerous_-s-s-s_ for me to be here." Orochimaru might have been insane, Hebia thought, but he hadn't been stupid. Cocky, yes, but he knew his limits when it came down to it. Even being just on the outskirts of Konoha was dangerous and idiotic and Hebia was sad to have asked this of him. To do this a second time would be even more dangerous.

Hebia had swallowed. "I can't leave her alone, Oreo," she'd said, using Sakura's old nickname for him. "He's a monster." There hadn't been any need to say who she'd been referring to.

She could have sworn that she'd seen his resolve softening, and had grinned for it. But then Orochimaru shook his head again and frowned harder. Worry had seeped through his pale white face and suddenly he hadn't seemed like the horror every Konoha villager was petrified of; he'd seemed like Orochimaru, her older brother, her protector, her twin. The same Orochimaru that had told her a thousand times to _not eat that kuso bug_ but she ended up swallowing it anyway and getting sick because of it. "He cannot be _s-s-s-s_o horrible a_s-s-s-s_ to _s-s-s-s_trike hi_s-s-s-s_ own child," the protector-Orochimaru had said, looking as if he doubted his words himself.

Hebia had looked up at him with green copies of his eyes, pleading with him. "He is, Orochimaru-nī-kun."

"Then why didn't you take her with you?" he'd asked. His right-hand man, Kabuto, looked as if he wanted to speak, but was silenced with a glare from Orochimaru.

Hebia remembered twitching then, her hand jerking like she wanted to hit him. Violence had always been the Senshi women's downfall in the old legends. Her brother was a sanin and she was not, so it was obviously a fight she was destined to lose. But violence was a tactic she was willing to use, should she need it. She's growled, "She's at the Academy, learning to protect herself, is why."

Orochimaru tucked a piece of his long black hair behind his ear and into its tie. "_S-S-S-S_akura may be my nie_c_e, but _s-s-s-s_he i_s-s-s-s_ not my baby _s-s-s-s-s_is _-s-s-s-s_ter," he'd said. Hebia had seen tears welling in his eyes, making their golden depths glitter and quiver. She'd seen how difficult that disicion was for him. He'd flicked his head then, making Kabuto rush forward, trying to land a punch somewhere to knock her out.

Orochimaru had been a smart man, when sane. He'd been a sensible man, to a degree, and he'd known his limits, no matter how brash he'd appeared. He had known that he himself would not have been able to bring himself to hit her, even to knock her out. So he'd sent his best to do it for him. And Hebia had held her own for a bit—most of everything Orochimaru had learned was passed down to her by the Great Snake himself—but eventually been hit too hard and had downed.

When she'd woken up, she was in a dirt-colored hallway, being carried on her brother's shoulder. She'd demanded to be let down, and when she wasn't, she hit him—_hard_. She remembered Kabuto had been ready to hit her again, but Orochimaru glared at him and shut the silver-haired boy down. She'd cussed at him and hit and squirmed and kicked until finally, she'd been let go. And when she was, she cussed and screamed and hit and kicked him some more, yelling all the way that she'd get Sakura here, until she was confronted by the suggestion that she had no imaimashi idea if she was east, west, south, or north. She'd been talked out of it, convinced that Konoha was a better place for her daughter.

Hebia's eyes watered at the memories as she got back to the window she'd been working on. She missed her nī-kun.

* * *

Shikamaru rolled up the scrolls he'd found in Sakura's desk and put them back on their proper shelves inside the desk's drawers. He glanced around the room, seeing that there were only two people other than him left in the room—no, babies didn't count. He saw Kiba and his—and Sakura's—little brother playing around like two idiots. Seeing as the boy was part of Kiba's family, he wasn't very surprised. But the kid was also a part of Sakura's family, and right now, he wasn't showing it. Kakashi was moping on a corner of Sakura's bed, glaring at nothing, still kneading away at his thigh and cheek.

Shikamaru was the first to admit that he's never really like Sasuke, but the way Kakashi was acting was totally out of line. Sure, the pink-haired troublesome girl was like his daughter, but Sasuke was like his son. And Shikamaru was the first to say he wasn't good a reading people, but he saw that look on the Uchiha's face when he'd told them that he wanted Sakura. There was no revengeful scheme on his mind, no hidden motive. Plain and simple on the Uchiha's face were the telltale signs of a man gone under. Men gone under weren't free to their own wills anymore; they were subject to their heart's will and the will of the woman who possessed it.

There was no just reason for Kakashi's anger other than the feeling of wrongness that settled inside when one thought of leaving Sakura to enemy, no matter if they offered peace.

But there was no need to say that to the captain of his team; he'd find out eventually for himself. So Shikamaru stood from the surprisingly comfortable chair and walked to the door. "I'm going to find a suitable shōgi board," he announced. "Who wants to join me?"

Kiba's face twisted. "Ew, _shōgi_." He looked at his brother and said, "You won't ever go near _that_ game, promise?"

"But Kiba-nī-kun, I like shōgi!" Burūsu complained.

Shikamaru gave his lazy smile and walked out the door. He might have just found his new favorite kid.

* * *

Sakura tapped her foot on the onyx-colored rug impatiently, her arms crossed. It had been a complete ten minutes since she'd asked her question, and not one of the boys would answer. "Tsunade won't let _who_ stay?" she asked for the third time in those ten minutes. Naruto's eyes darted around the dark room, not daring to meet hers, and Sasuke's glared at Naruto. No one answered. "Naruto, tell me, or so help me, I'll knock you into the dirt out that window! The threat goes double for you, Sasuke!"

Naruto visibly swallowed. He was outraged with Sasuke, but he didn't want to put the teme in hot water, not so soon after they'd been reunited. But as soon as Sakura started cracking her knuckles, Naruto's big mouth opened. "Sasuke wants you in return for a treaty with Konoha!" he blurted out, and his hands immediately snapped up to protect his face.

But Sakura didn't strike anyone. Her foot stopped tapping and she turned her glare on Sasuke. "Are you kidding me, Sasuke?" she asked. Her eyebrows knitted together, and she glared at him with shimmering jewel-green eyes. Despite the obvious anger, her eyes were still their stunning green, their green of childhood. "What, you can't just ask me to stay, you can't just give a treaty?"

Sasuke looked up to her with his ebony orbs, giving her his dulled _Are you stupid?_ look. "You can never _give_ without _getting_, Sakura," he said, as if it should be evident. "You'd be taken advantage of."

"Sasuke, that's your homeland," Sakura countered. Her arms were still crossed and her eyes were still glowering.

The Uchiha glared back, standing from his chair. "It is the land that killed my family," he deadpanned. There was stone over his face again, controlling his expression. But nothing was hidden from Sakura; she could read his eyes as if they were words written on paper. She could see the pain there. "I refuse to forgive, or forget, that. I am not going back, nor are they getting anything from me without giving something up themselves."

Naruto winced when Sakura waved her arms around. "That's what I am to you now?" she shouted, her face coloring red with anger. "A something?"

Sasuke winced too. "You know chikushō well that's not it," he growled softly.

Sakura glared at him. Her mouth was set in a straight line and her pink brows were knotted together in the center. Her eyes flared with jade fire. "I don't _know _that," she snarled back. "You didn't even ask me first! But that doesn't matter anyway; it isn't like Tsunade would _let_ me, even if I wanted to." She paced the room, circling around Sasuke, regaining that lioness quality. Sasuke could practically see a lion's tail swishing behind her. "And right now, with you treating me like the property you promised never to treat me like, I'm not so sure I want to."

Sasuke glared. "Stop lying, Sakura. It doesn't suit you," he grumbled back, watching as her rosy hair—that could use a nice cut, now that he looked at it—swayed behind her like the lioness tail she hadn't been born with. "You know just as well as I do that you would stay here, with me, if you had the choice."

"What the seikō makes you think that?" she shouted. She was standing next to Naruto now. Fury made her look taller than the blonde, though she most obviously wasn't. The way she held herself when she was angry…it brought her confidence and the illusion of height. The blonde she stood next to had smartly kept his mouth shut, watching as his two former teammates fought.

Sasuke's scowl deepened and his cheeks reddened slightly, like the blush he gave when Sakura had first kissed his cheek in DenkiMachi, but he still took a step closer to Sakura and pulled her to him by her wrist, until she was squashed against his chest. "Because," he whispered to the shell of her ear, "you aren't pulling away." He'd planned to kiss her, but with Naruto watching so intently, he couldn't bring himself to. Public affection would never be his forte, he feared. "I should have talked it over with you," he said. "I'm sorry."

Sakura pulled away slightly and smiled at him. To Naruto, it looked as if Sasuke had only pulled Sakura in for a hug; he hadn't heard the soft apology that had gone on between the two. All he saw was that Sakura looked forgiving now—and then that she stood on her toes to peck his lips, to which Sasuke didn't move away in the least. "That's all you had to say," Sakura murmured on his lips.

Naruto's scared silence turned into horrified sputtering. "How— Wha— Why— When— _Huh_?"

Sasuke's miniscule blush darkened by half a shade. "It's a long story," Sakura giggled. "I tell it to you when you're older," she said, as if she were Naruto's mother—as if Naruto were younger than her. And she laughed; it was a happy laugh that Naruto hadn't heard in such a long time, and it made him smile for her. "But I think I might be staying in the Sound a bit longer, if Tsunade-senpai will allow it." The rosette took hold of Sasuke's hand, making him press his lips together and his cheeks redden a bit more—almost to a degree where you could actually _see_ the blush. "Come on. Let's find Taka and the guys."

And they left, Sakura with hands in both her own, not just Naruto's and not just Sasuke's, but both, just like it used to be.

* * *

Robāto's eyes narrowed as the blonde Hokage walked down through the tiny corridor that was between the cells. Why would the Slug Princess come visit him, of all people—unless it was to gloat over his impending doom? While gloating seemed the woman's style, he couldn't quite figure out why she would do it at this early a time. From the shadows in his room, Robāto could tell it was hardly seven in the morning.

But despite the time, the large-breasted woman strode towards his cell and his keeper with silent paces. Life seemed to have beaten her down since the last time he'd seen her. Her strides were no longer sure; they were hesitant and scared. However, her back was still straight and her nose was still high, so the power of her status flowed through her, no matter how her walk looked like.

The Hokage nodded to the policeman that kept watch over night and turned immediately to the redheaded prisoner. "She isn't coming back," the blonde said to him. Her hazel eyes were clouded with pain.

For a second, Robāto thought the Hokage was talking about his wife. Though she'd been missing for over four years and their marriage could be considered both null and void, the redhead still thought of Hebia as his wife. But then the Haruno remembered that his wife had been missing for over four years and had gotten this news over those four years ago. The woman—the _girl_—he hadn't seen for the past few weeks was his daughter. Still Robāto stared at his superior, uncomprehending.

The Hokage stared back; Robāto could have sworn he saw tears in her eyes, but they were blinked away too fast for him to be sure. When he didn't say anything, the Slug Princess said again, "She isn't coming back. Sakura." Robāto didn't know if the Hokage was trying to remind herself or give information to him. "We aren't going to see her again, not in Konoha."

Robāto stared, his jaw agape. His azure eyes searched the Hokage's, looking for some sign of a lie, a trick. He may have been a horrible man—and still might be, for all he knew—but what he did in his past just cause to lose both his wife and his daughter? When he found no lie, he managed to form the word, "Why?"

He saw tears again. This time they were real and visible, though they'd been blinked away too. The Hokage pulled a vial of whiskey from the depths of her shirt and swallowed it down in one gulp. It didn't seem to help the utter agony in her hazel eyes. "Because I made a treaty with Uchiha Sasuke that required the trading of Haruno Sakura for the alliance of the Sound," she said dismally.

Cerulean eyes widened; the Haruno threw himself against the iron bars of his cell. "You did _what_?" he growled. He knew he shouldn't threaten—or even look like he was threatening—the Hokage, male or female, but he couldn't help himself. He'd heard of this "Uchiha Sasuke" and everything he'd heard was far from good. They called him a ruthless killer, the villagers, ready to take on any opponent no matter the cost; they say he killed his own brother. They said he had a friendship with the devil, and that he was ready to call upon the protection of that friendship should need be. Ninja regarded him differently, but a danger nonetheless. And now the poor daughter he'd abused and treated horridly. "You left my little girl with that…that…that _monstrosity_?"

The Hokage glared at him. "Little girl?" she scoffed. Her eyes degraded him for her. "You laid hand on her for most her life! I found bruises, everywhere! _Everywhere_! If it was covered by clothes, it was bruised and browned. That note you left her for her twelfth birthday—Kakashi found it. He was irate to see it; he showed it to me. You told your own daughter that _you were sorry she was born_! Don't you dare call my Sakura your little girl!" She took another swing of her alcohol. Her eyes glared relentlessly at the man inside the cell. "You have no idea what being a parent is like. This is the hardest thing I've ever had to do, giving up _my _little girl, my friend, and my protégé. Don't give me gomi about how the seikō I could do such a thing! At least I'm leaving her with someone she knows, someone she used to be friends with. At least _I_ know where the jigoku she _is_ and _will be_."

The blonde Hokage took a deep breath and another swing of her alcohol. "_My_ little girl is leaving," she said, calmly now. She made a point to emphasize the word "my." "She won't be saying goodbye to anyone excepting the team already with her in her new home," the Hokage told the celled redhead. "I'm telling you this because Sakura is still underage, though she's a ninja and is technically emancipated, and you are the only parent we have contact of. I am required by the Elders to ask you if you wish to come with me to sign the treaty, so you can see her one last time." There was a fourth swing of her vial. She looked down on him over her nose, like a noble looking down on a servant.

Robāto pulled away from the bars. He fell to the concrete ground, looking up at the blonde, ready to kiss her shoes if need be. "I want to see her," he responded. He wanted to apologize, hold her for the first and last time. "When do we leave?"

The Hokage glared at him as if she hadn't expected him to say yes. Her hazel eyes had gone a bit foggy with the haze of alcohol. "The moment we get a letter back," she said. "You will be taken like a prisoner and treated no better than a prisoner. You will still be a prisoner. You will walk and be fed the same amount as you are here. If Sasuke have a prison or a dungeon, you will stay there. Upon Sakura's orders, you will be dealt with accordingly."

Robāto nodded. He watched as the Hokage walked away; he swore he saw her shoulders shudder. But he couldn't be sure, because his own shoulders were shuddering, his face covered in tears, his head in his hands.

* * *

**This one's longer than the norm, and it's also up quicker. Enjoy.**

**R&R**


	39. Chapter 39

**The only Japanese will be names and cuss words (unless I can't find them). And they still will have the asterisks (*) and translations in at the bottom. If they're not here, they're in a previous chapter. Unimportant names—like store names that are irrelevant to the story and there for visual's sake—will be in English.**

**Standard disclaimer applied.**

* * *

Sasuke had assigned a room to each of his "guests." Each and every room was decked out in carpets and comfortable sheets, everything that Sakura's original room hadn't had. Almost no one came out of their given rooms, save for Naruto and Kiba; Naruto only to hang out with his ex-team and Kiba to play around with his brother and get to know the kid's mother. Kakashi sulked in his room, coming out only to eat—because Sasuke had a strict rule of no eating in the rooms—and to sulk somewhere where everyone could see his unhappiness. Shikamaru only came out to play shōgi with anyone willing. Akamaru trotted happily behind Kiba wherever he went and, after wagging his tail like a playful puppy being reunited with his family, Lerō slithered behind Hebia obediently.

After a minimum of two days, Sasuke's hawk had returned to the window in his office. The bird sat patiently on the windowsill until its master entered the room and sat on his desk-chair. Sasuke extended his arm and the hawk landed carefully on his forearm, careful of digging his talons into the exposed skin. Sasuke was wearing his black sleeveless shirt; it was too hot to do otherwise. It was winter and the air in the Sound was getting cooler, but the Sound was known for its smoldering temperatures even more than Konoha was.

Sasuke ran his hand over the hawk's head, a soft symbol of praise. He took out the rolled up scroll from the hawk's curled beak and broke the seal. There were two sentences on the thick paper. _You can keep her._ That sentence was almost scribbled out, and the letters quivered as if she was second-guessing herself as she wrote it. _Send directions so that I can sign the treaty_.

The Oto no rīdā* actually smirked at the letter. He pulled out a cracker from the drawer in his desk and tossed it to the hawk, which flew into the air and snatched it up, then landed on the desk. The official Team Seven picture still sat, framed, on the right side of the desk. He pulled out stationery and gave exact directions, down to the very last grain of sand. He stamped it with the seal of the Otokage* and sent it off with his hawk.

He hadn't fed it in a bit, but the hawk looked no worse for it. It must have been hunting on its own, just as it should, now. There was nothing to stop them from going out in the open, no one to hide from. Even if Tsunade had said no, there would have been no reason to hide. Sasuke would have gone to war if that happened, not fearing staying hidden. Hiding would hinder him in war, for doing so would waste endless amounts of chakra, chakra that could be used for better purposes. But, having had his request fulfilled, there was no need to hide. He was soon to be one of the most powerful allies of a powerful nation.

The raptor flew out the open window, shouting its three-second caw has it went.

Sasuke gazed at it as it soared. That bird would be the messenger of the end of a lifelong struggle, Sasuke realized. Soon, the end of one dream was coming, the end of his revenge. An avenger never stopped seeking revenge, some would say, and Sasuke agreed with saying. But was he really still an avenger? The closing of one door signaled the opening of the other. The fulfillment of one dream signified the starting of another. He had killed Itachi—a dream fulfilled, no matter how he wished it hadn't been—and his revenge on Konoha was no its way—in the form of keeping Sakura, a dream in herself. There was one dream left unfulfilled.

He remembered the first words to Kakashi, Naruto, and Sakura as a teammate. _"My name is Sasuke Uchiha,"_ he had said._ "I hate a lot of things, and I don't particularly like anything. What I have is not a dream, because I will make it a reality. I'm going to restore my clan, and kill a certain someone."_

The second part of that memory had been achieved. He'd killed his brother and, in turn, the chance his son had of having him around. He still didn't know much about Itachi, other than what he remembered from before the massacre and what Itachi himself had told him. On the way to achieve that dream—that reality, as he called it five years ago—he'd made up a third dream and had disregarded the first dream. By fulfilling that newer third dream, he'd made a step towards accomplishing that first dream.

Sasuke almost laughed at how things had changed from then to two months ago to now. Back then, he hardly knew how to restore a clan, now he knew all too well and was all too eager. Hormones—they did strange things to a man. When he was twelve, he'd only started the long trip through puberty, only starting to notice girls for what they were and who they were, his voice only starting to change. He hardly knew what restoring a clan entailed; all he knew was that as the last Uchiha, he had to. Back when he was twelve, he _had _been the last Uchiha, in his mind, never minding the brother who he thought was the vein of all evil. Three months ago, all he knew was that Itachi hadn't been the vein of all evil, that Konoha was. That he wanted to be closer to his brother, even after his death. Now he knew much more.

Now he had a sister. In-law, but still a sister, no matter if she was older than him. She was strong. She was a mother of the next generation of Uchiha, the first mother of the first new boy to become part of that new generation. If she could do that, and stand up for her son when Sasuke wanted to take little Fugaku from her, then she was deserving of the name Uchiha. And, once he had political standing as Konoha's ally, he would give her that name, just as Itachi would have wanted. That was if she didn't return to her island, as she had a right to do so.

Now he had a nephew. A cute little nephew that looked almost exactly like Itachi. He wasn't alone. He had a nephew to teach and care for and to do right by, like Itachi would have wanted to do if he could. He would be the best uncle a child could have, even if they started out to a rocky start.

Now he had Sakura. Having her was not something he wanted to go over. He thought he'd use her for revenge two months ago. He thought he'd strut to Konoha, an evil Sakura in hand who was ready to take over the world, and no one would do anything because they loved their precious flower too much. He thought takeover would be easy. He never thought he'd want to keep her in the Sound, let alone actually _ask_ to keep her. He didn't think he'd reform their bond. He never thought…

Sasuke shook his head, not wanting to think the words. He wasn't ready to think the words. They'd had their first kiss just days ago; he wasn't supposed to be thinking those words yet.

He stood from his swirling chair and walked out the door, telling Chairo to tell anyone that planned to talk to him in his office to hold it off until tomorrow. She nodded and shuffled some papers, giving a strained smile as her boss walked away to meet his girlfriend.

* * *

From then on, the days seemed too short and the hours too little. Three days came and went with Sakura under Sasuke's arm, Naruto bugging them for the story, Kakashi sulking in his room, Kiba playing and talking to Burūsu, Shikamaru playing shōgi with the henchmen, Hebia going out with Sho, Karin and Suigetsu huddling in their own little circle as they whispered secrets to each other, and Jūgo feeling free to go outside and play with the birds until they bothered him and he killed them all. It was really no wonder there were hardly any birdies out near the Sound Palace. When asked, he always said, "Those kuso birds don't know when to stop stalking me!"

It was actually a question Sakura never planned to ask again. She'd never heard the gentle giant curse. It was something she never planned to do again. An angry Jūgo was almost as scary as an angry Sasuke.

There was almost nothing to do but sit around, read scrolls, and—when they were alone—kiss to their hearts' content. Which was exactly what Sasuke and Sakura were doing now, now that no one was paying any attention to them; they were too intent on watching the boys have their own conversation. It was adorable to watch the boys giggle to each other with their rounded speech. Even Kakashi had stepped out of his moping to watch the toddlers play.

Sakura nudged her head into the nook of Sasuke's neck, holding his hand. His arm was thrown around her, and there was an almost visible blush tinting his cheeks. Sakura played with his fingers, which dwarfed her own. "When do you think she'll be here?" she asked, holding her fingertips to his. Sasuke had told her she'd be staying with him as a citizen of the Sound as soon as he himself knew.

Sasuke shrugged. "It shouldn't be much longer," he said. His head tilted down towards her slightly, staring at her plump lips. He'd recently got his hair cut by one of the henchmen that were in love with pretending to be a barber and it was spiked up to its sexy chicken-shiri style. His bangs were clipped shorter to hang in front of his pointed chin and squared jaw.

Sakura nodded, her verdigris eyes glancing down sadly. She wanted to get this over with. Don't get her wrong, she was happy to stay with Sasuke and that Konoha wouldn't have to go to war. She was just angry that she'd have to say goodbye to everything she'd ever known. It was something she wasn't looking forward to. The rosette leaned up and pressed her lips to his in a quick peck.

"Ew, Sakura-nee-chan kissed Sasuke-sama!" Burūsu gagged to his new friend, making the rest of the group turn their heads to look at the new couple.

Sakura's cheeks flamed; Sasuke's eyes flew to everything but the faces of his companions. But Sakura giggled in spite of her red cheeks. "Guess we were caught, eh, Sasuke?" She wasn't ready to add the suffix yet, wasn't ready to backtrack five years and remind him of the needy little girl she used to be. She wasn't ready to be that girl again. Maybe later, when their relationship was less new.

Sasuke smirked at her. True, he was smiling—_smiling_—more often now, but that was between the two of them. Still, the eldest Uchiha wouldn't look anyone in the eye.

Fugaku laughed. "Burūsu," he said in his babyish Japanese, "that's what people who love each other do." He had never heard either his mother or his father refer to anyone with a suffix, and so he didn't either. Habits are passed on, no?

Burūsu gagged again anyway, making everyone laugh. Even Sasuke let out a chuckle.

* * *

Tsunade easily spotted the half-underground Sound Palace. Leftover chakra floated around it, hinting at a protective jutsu having been in place once not so long ago. It was no wonder they couldn't find this place before; chakra blocked out those who needed to be blocked. Now, the jutsu not having been performed again, the chakra just drifted, waiting to be snatched back up.

Behind her stood the team of ANBU followed in their assigned masks. There were probably more Black Ops than needed, but Tsunade had wanted those who would miss Sakura the most to see her. That included most of Konoha eleven. Rock Lee, Hinata, Neji, TenTen, Ino, Shizune, and even Sai were placed behind their Hokage, masks in place. They'd been told what was happening. Irritated, they'd argued with her, saying all kinds of things to make her change her mind. But after the day they had to prepare themselves, they knew there was nothing better to do about this.

But in the end, here they all were, grumbling to themselves as they, too, caught sight of the concealed, underfoot palace. The prisoner had been placed under Hinata and Shizune's care, simply because Tsunade knew he wouldn't be mistreated in their care. Hate as they might, they could never act upon said hate unless pushed to do so. They weren't like Ino or TenTen who could be trigger-happy. The jailbird hadn't complained once at his manhandling, so in that respect he was safe.

Someone was waiting for them in the direction they were coming from. He had the look of every henchman in the world, with marks all over his body and square shoulders as big as an ox's. His face was stereotypical with a scratchy-looking scruff of a beard, brown almond eyes, a flat chin, and a jaw as square as a box. He was a squatty boy, shorter than he should be. He didn't look much older than Tsunade's ANBU, maybe nineteen or twenty. It was amazing how young ninja decided to become rouges, how young they made the decision that would ruin their lives. Once the treaty was signed, the Sound would be the organization—or country or whatever—with the youngest recruits to be an ally of Konohagakure. But the Sound had a whole clan of people with kekkei genkai and well-trained ninja.

Tsunade didn't need to announce herself. The boy was an old Konohagakure ninja and, had Tsunade found him under any other circumstances, she wouldn't have hesitated to bring the boy to the ground and drag him kicking and screaming back to his worried family. But they hadn't and in honor of the coming treaty, she couldn't very well attack one of the Sound's own. The henchman was under Sasuke's protection at the moment, a citizen of the Sound.

The kid nodded his respects as he, no doubt, had been instructed to do. "Hokage Tsunade of the Hidden Leaf Village," he said dutifully. His voice was rumbly and low. "Otokage Sasuke would like to meet you in the northern lounge."

One of Tsunade's blonde brows rose. "Otokage?" she asked, impressed. That was how highly the Sound citizens regarded him? As a Kage? Tsunade wondered what the other Kages would think of this. The henchman didn't answer, only did a few hand seals to make a walkway of stone appear as he led the group of nine into the hallway. Dark blue chakra flickered in torches, and familiarity shimmered in its signature. It was Sasuke's, Tsunade noticed. But it didn't have the demonic edge she'd come to expect of it. The edge was gone, replaced by something warmer.

The air inside the little tunnel was scarcly safe to breathe. Dust particles danced around in the air, doing their best to get sucked into lungs. The channel went on for miles. The clacking of ten pairs of shoes was the only sound; it echoed within the stone walls. The passage opened, and through it came light—and clean air. Tsunade followed her missing nin into the wider hallway, and then into the labyrinth of antechambers that followed. No one felt safe following, that much she could tell. Hinata and Shizune gripped Robāto harder; Neji and TenTen huddled closer to each other than usual on a mission; Ino hurried to Sai's side, seeking protection and to protect; and Lee shuffled through the halls, footsteps louder and harsher than his usual loud and harsh steps. Nevertheless, they all followed, confident they could at least protect each other.

The boy turned a corner and suddenly the lifeless so-called palace turned buoyant. Tsunade could hear dozens of people from one fork of the hallway. Shouts and laughter came from that side. From the other fork, Tsunade could hear softer laugher, the voices of two toddlers, and the voices of people, low. The boy turned to the quieter hall, not looking back to see if he was even being followed, assured that he was. The missing ninja stepped aside to let his nine followers in.

The nine stopped dead. In the middle of the room, two toddlers were the center of attention, holding little three sentence conversations while the adults in the room laughed at their cuteness. Sitting on the floor with the two was a woman Tsunade never thought she'd see again—the legendary White Snake. She sat with a boy on her lap across from a younger woman who had another boy on her lap. The boy on Hebia's lap looked like an Inuzuka. The telltale red birthmarks were slashed down his cheeks, but his eyes were a familiar vibrant green. The other boy was obviously an Uchiha, and the resemblance to the woman he sat on was amazing. Tsunade openly gaped.

Surrounding the kids and their mother was the team she'd sent out. Kakashi had a half smile on his face as he watched the boys interact. He was never a fan of children, Tsunade though, but not even he could resist the two boys. Shikamaru was practicing his shōgi on a portable board he must've gotten from someone in the Sound Palace. Naruto was sitting cross-legged on an armchair. Kiba joined in the toddler's conversation. Even Sasuke's Team Taka was there; the redhead woman and the watery-haired man in a corner of the room, sitting on the floor, laughing to each other. The big man with the curse-mark was looking out a window that was covered in dirt.

And on the sofa?

Sakura sat next to Sasuke, her head resting on his shoulder, her fingers playing with his. Sasuke swooped down to press a kiss to her nose, her cheek, her forehead—never her lips, but knowing the secretive man, it was obvious he wouldn't. He almost glowed, letting Sakura play with his fingers and keep her close. Sakura said something and Sasuke chuckled, his arm tightening around her shoulders and keeping her closer to him in his version of a hug. Sakura winked at him, pulling up to kiss his lips. And Sasuke didn't pull away, just welcomed it, practically glowing. And Sakura was in new clothes, a red leather jacket that looked far more expensive than any sensible person should have been able to afford, a mesh-shirt underneath, and brand-new biking shorts.

How well had Sasuke been treating her?

"Sasuke-domo," the boy called, "the Hokage is here."

Sakura jumped away from Sasuke, practically sliding onto the floor in her shock. Sasuke stood up, nodding to Tsunade, looking unfazed by her sudden appearance. He smoothed out the ruffles in his black shirt and looked around at the ensemble she'd brought with her. He nodded at the boy, apparently dismissing him, because the boy scurried away to the other side of the hall. He nodded at the backup, not so much as saying a word.

Tsunade looked at him with cool hazel eyes, making sure there was no emotion seeping through her poker face. But she was a horrible gambler. "They wanted to say a final goodbye to our blossom," she said with what she hoped was as little emotion as Sasuke.

Sasuke nodded his head towards Robāto. The redhead was in chains and was being held by Hinata and Shizune. All he saw were two women behind the face of a mouse and cat. "Who is he?" The redhead glared at everything and everything in his sight. It didn't elude Sasuke that Sakura had shrunk at the sight of him.

The mouse and the cat shoved Robāto towards Sasuke. "This is Haruno Robāto," the mouse, Hinata, responded. "This is Haruno Sakura's father."

Sasuke visibly twitched and almost turned around. Perhaps to protect Sakura? What had Sakura told him about her family? "Why is he here?" he nearly growled.

The cat, Shizune, answered this time. As caretakers of the prisoner, any questions to him or about him were to be answered by them. "He is Haruno Sakura's father, Sasuke-san," she said. "He must be—"

Robāto thrashed against the women's hold. "_This_ is the monster my baby is staying with?" he roared. He fought against the ANBU's hold, but they held tight to his arms. Robāto glared at the mouse- and cat-masked women, trying to free himself. "Let. Me. _Go_," he ordered, high and mighty once more. "Release me!" He trashed around.

Sasuke's glare was heavier than the weight of the world. "I am not a monster," he responded in a monotone. "A monster," he continued, "is a man who beats his own child for no reason other than because she forgot to do something. A monster is a man who leaves belt marks all over his daughter's body. A monster is a man who tells his daughter that he is _sorry _she was born." Sasuke frowned at the redhead, itching to release a Chidori to burn the man to a crisp. "I am not the man who made my _ninja_ daughter cower behind a couch at the sight of me." His eyes turned a bloody red, staring relentlessly until Robāto shrunk into the hands of his captors. His head snapped to where the blue-headed man and his gal pal sat. "Suigetsu, Karin!" he said. "Take him to the jail."

"On it," the lazy-sounding blue-haired man said. He and the redhead jogged over to Robāto. "Mouse, Cat," he murmured respectfully, "if we may?"

The two ANBU released the prisoner to the nukenins' care.

Tsunade tsked. "That baka, thinking he has some kind of right to Sakura now," she murmured.

"Hn."

"Sakura-chan?" the Hokage called. Sakura had shrunken into the sofa, too proud to actually move from her place, too scared to stay as she was. That was the thing with child abuse: No matter how strong the child grew, she still thought she was less than her abuser, still thought that their parent could do something to abuse her. "Come here."

Sakura nodded; her mother picked up Burūsu and hopped him on her hip, then followed after. Hebia put a hand on Sakura's shoulder, wanting to hug her. She could feel Sakura quivering. "Tsunade-senpai."

Tsunade smiled softly, suddenly overcome with the urge to drink, and drink, and _drink_. This was possibly the last time she was going to see her pink-haired protégé. It seemed like too much to bear. Tears welled up in her eyes and she gulped, yanking Sakura into one last hug. "I'm going to miss you, kid," she murmured into Sakura's ear, letting go of her as quickly as she'd grabbed her. Tsunade blinked away tears in her eyes; there was no way in jigoku she was going to cry on enemy territory—no way in jigoku she was going to cry at all. When she felt as if she could trust her voice again, she said, "Hebia, I never thought I'd see you again. Who's this midget?"

Hebia smiled at the sanin. Burūsu snuggled into her neck, doing his best to hide. "Tsunade-chan, meet my son, Burūsu-kun. He's the reason I left in the first place."

"I don't remember you having a kid with you when you…went missing," Tsunade said, choosing her words carefully. She knew that Hebia had chosen to leave with her brother, but she didn't know if everyone else knew that, or even knew that Hebia was the Great Snake's younger twin sister. "So I guess that answers that. Inuzuka?"

Hebia's white skin flushed red. "It was an accident."

Tsunade nodded. "Most of all babies come from mistakes, but the gift of life is never an accident." When Hebia nodded, Tsunade turned her attention back to Sakura. "I can see you'll be okay here, with your mother beside you." She didn't mention the kisses she'd seen her share with Sasuke. Her avoidance of the subject made Sakura's cheeks flare. "There are a few people that want to say a final farewell," she continued. "I think it would be best to do so in the comfort of somewhere private." Tsunade added as an afterthought, unused to having to ask permission because she was usually the one granting permission, "That is, if Sasuke will allow it."

Sakura almost scoffed at the idea. "Oh, he'll allow it," she assured. "Won't you, Sasuke?"

Sasuke glared at her, but said nothing otherwise. He nodded at the doorway, permission to go. Sakura smiled and walked out the doorway, brushing her shoulder against his arm and her fingers against his on the way out. Tsunade dismissed her ANBU and they followed Sakura out the door.

Sakura led the way to her new room, keeping her mouth shut, not daring to call anyone by their names, though she knew what they were. Ally or enemy, an ANBU's identity was to be kept from all outside the ANBU. Good thing she'd had a few missions for the ANBU. Sasuke had given her a new room; it was closer to his room and therefore she was less likely to get lost on the way like she had on her first day. It was furbished with riches far greater than her simpler room. It was equipped with a bigger bed and an actual window. It was still covered in dirt, but it was a window nonetheless. Sakura entered her newer, bigger room and bounced onto her four-poster bed. It was half the size of Sasuke's.

The man in the wolf mask closed the door behind them all, having had brought up the back.

The girl and the boar mask looked around the room; Sakura couldn't see her face because of her mask, but she knew she was gaping. "What are you, a princess?" Ino gasped.

Sakura laughed. "More like queen," she said, lying down on the enormous king-sized bed. She smiled up at the stone ceiling. "You may not believe me when I say this, but this place is _really_ a palace. It has the whole ordeal—a ruling family, lords, knights, secretaries, servants, chefs…"

The girl in the panda mask giggled. "Sounds like you like it here," TenTen giggled, walking over to sit on the bed. "Which reminds me—how did you _get_ here?"

Sakura clearly stiffened. It was a story she'd rather not go over, apparently. Her mind wasn't muddled with fake and real memories anymore, but the truth seemed more surreal than the lie.

There was a long pause of pregnant silence before the girl in the mouse mask took a step towards the bed and Sakura. Hinata twiddled her fingers. "So this is like a castle?" she asked, changing the subject, seeing as the previous one made Sakura uncomfortable. "Who are the ruling family, the lords, the knights…?"

Sakura laughed again. "The Uchiha are obviously the ruling family. Even Anna-chan has pull around here for being Kuku-kun's mother," she started, sitting up on the bed. It looked like a sleepover, with gossip and giggles. TenTen pulled her mask off her face and set it on her head, just so Sakura could read the confusion in her brown eyes. Sakura smiled. "Itachi had a wife and a son no one knew about," she explained. This caused gasps to go around, from everyone, not just Hinata, TenTen, and Ino. Shizune, Neji, and Lee gasped too. "Kuku-kun is short for Fugaku," she added. "They have merit around here, even though Anna-chan doesn't like to use it.

"The lording people would have to be Team Taka, Mama, Burūsu, and I," she went on. When she was little, she'd been a fairly girly girl, but that wasn't why she was on the subject of the Sound Palace with such vigor. This was one topic she could talk about without it being awkward for anyone, and she dove into it greedily. "Burūsu is my little brother; he's the product of a drunken Christmastime affair five years ago between Mama and Kiba's dad, Te. This is old news here, though, I guess. I found out a few weeks ago, so it's still new to me.

"The knights—and they couldn't be any farther from the shining armor if they _tried_—are Sasuke's henchmen, his recruits," Sakura said. She watched TenTen as she listened intently. "They do as told without question. And there are the rest the people here, willing concubines"—Sakura gagged—"and servants that do their best to keep everyone happy. Everything in the west wing shimmers with how clean it is. This place is amazing!"

The man in the frog mask jogged to Sakura's side. The mask had wide eyes with big pupils, a hint as to who it was behind the mask. "Has Sasuke hurt you?" Rock Lee wondered, shouting. "I swear to Guy-sensei that if he has, I will fight Sasuke and win! And if I can't do that, I shall run around the expanse of this 'Sound Palace' seventy times! And if I can't do that, I shall do three-hundred pushups! And if I can't do that, then I'll—"

Sakura stopped him. Who wanted to go through another Lee montage? "No, he hasn't hurt me, Lee." Save for hypnotizing her and holding her at sword-point, but that was a story for another time. Sakura still resented Sasuke for that, no matter how pretty he looked when he blushed. Other than that…other than that, they were more than fine. Sakura pulled the zipper of her burgundy jacket higher around the latex of the built-in bra.

"Nice threads, Billboard Brow," Ino complemented. "Complements of your _boo_ Sasuke, right?"

Sakura blushed. "What the seikō is a '_boo_,' Ino-pig?"

TenTen laughed. "Don't pretend like you don't know!" she accused. "We saw you making kissy faces at each other!"

The blush on Sakura's porcelain cheeks turned redder than Sasuke's favorite fruit. "Shut it," she muttered.

"I think they make a cute couple," Neji said. His voice was as much of a monotone as Sasuke's. "You know, if you can overlook the _ruthless killer_ part," he added.

Sakura threw a pillow at the wolf's head. It would have landed square on his face—if Neji hadn't ducked. "We live to die, we live to kill," Sakura said. "Ninjas are tools for killing," she reminded him. Her face was stony, her expression unreadable, though the blush was still on her face. "He's done with that now," she continued. "I'll make sure he is."

"But you aren't sure?" Neji asked. He pulled his wolf mask off his face, donning it on his head much as TenTen had. He waited for Sakura to answer. She didn't. "Staying here isn't safe."

The rosette's green eyes stoned. She stared straight into Neji's milky lavender eyes. "I feel safer here than I've felt in Konoha all my life." There was no quivering of her voice, no shivering of her jaw, to give away a lie. She wasn't playing with the cuffs of her skirt or the hems of her shorts; those were her usual indicative signs. Her eyes didn't even dart around the room like a person scared of being caught. "I love you, all of you," she continued, "but I _like_ it here, I don't care if it's safe here or not. I _feel_ safe, emotionally. Physically, I can protect myself."

Sakura felt like she was betraying everyone she'd ever cared about all in one blow. Everyone was staring, gaping, awaiting her every word. She'd never been a person to back down saying her thoughts, but at this moment, she wished she really didn't feel her feelings. She wished she had never opened her huge mouth. But she couldn't very well shut it now. Her eyes stung; her eye-sockets itched. She knew tears were forming in her green eyes, but she could see past them. That was how she knew to close her eyes; there was no need to show her friends the kekkei genkai she hadn't known she had. "This is my home now," she went on. "I know you're worried about me, but Tsunade already granted the treaty; there's no returning. And I don't want to return. Have you seen this? This is a brand-new start, away from everything and anything that's ever caused me pain."

Neji stared at her. It wasn't a glare, not exactly, but a strong look of disapproving. It made Sakura feel like a little girl, staring up at a parent who she knew wasn't proud of her. "Excepting Sasuke, of course," he interrupted.

Sakura took a deep breath. "He's different." She knew how imawashii _naïve_ she sounded, and she hated it. "He trying to make up for it, okay?" She shook her head. "But let's not end this on a bad note. This might be the last time I ever get to see you guys and there's no point in making me feel bad about a decision I had nothing to do with." No one moved. Sakura pulled her hair, loose on her shoulders, into a spiked ponytail. She sat on all fours when she was done, and pounced at Shizune. The cat squealed and dropped to the floor, laughing when Sakura pressed a kiss to her forehead.

Ino watched, giggling to herself, leaning against her bird-masked boyfriend. Just as her best friend breathed in a fresh gulp of life, she was taken away from her, given to the very same person who'd taken life from her in the first place. Ino made it a habit to think rightly of Sasuke; in her mind, he was still the cute little orphaned rich boy that was every shade of emotionless. He was still the boy who was indirectly kind. It was everyone else's fault that he'd been dragged down the wrong path into darkness. But Ino wasn't completely blind. Sasuke was also the boy who'd stolen life from her best friend; but he was the boy who'd brought it back into her.

Shizune gasped. "My kami, Sakura-chan!" she shouted. She was on top of Sakura in their play wrestling match, pinning her down. Sakura had forgotten to keep her eyes hidden. "Neji! Come here!" The longhaired boy who'd been hiding behind TenTen, watching with the faintest hint of smile, stiffened at the sound of his superior's voice; he raced over to see what he'd been called for. "Is that… That's it, isn't it?" Shizune asked, seeming out of her area of expertise.

Sakura's smile slipped off her face. "What?" she asked. "What's what?" Her eyes! She closed them tightly, tilting her head away from their careful inspection. But Neji had seen all he needed in order to affirm the suspicion.

"My Sakura blossom is hurt!" Rock Lee shouted. He pushed past the things in his way, running over to see Sakura. "What are you doing? Why are you holding her down?"

TenTen walked over, sitting by Sakura's upturned head. Ino did so too, trailing Sai behind her. Hinata twiddled her fingers, standing behind Shizune, asserting the situation before siding with anyone. Sai eyed Sakura with curious eyes; the expression on her face was one of stubbornness and protection. He wondered what was making her feel that way and how those feelings felt.

"Sakura, open your eyes," Shizune uncharacteristically ordered.

The itching around her eyes stopped, making Sakura feel free to open her eyes. They were the same pure, beautiful green as they'd been before. "Thanks for scaring me half to death," Sakura complained, searching Shizune's eyes for confusion. It was there, clear as day. "What freaked you out so bad?" she asked, though she knew perfectly well what had.

Shizune shook her head, readjusting her ANBU cat mask. "Nothing," she said. "A trick of the light, maybe. Or maybe being on enemy territory has me a bit freaked out." She took a deep breath and stood up, helping Sakura up. "Would you show us around your palace?"

Sakura nodded, ignoring the suspicious looks around her.

* * *

"You want me to make you your own village?" Tsunade asked, dumbfounded. Sasuke had to know she didn't have the power to do that, right?

Sasuke shook his head. He leaned back into his office chair. "No," he deadpanned. "I want you to make sure none of the other Hidden Villages try to do anything to 'take me back' or even to fight." Tsunade stared at him as if he'd asked her to take away a village's free will. "I won't attack them, they won't attack me."

"You realize I can't control other villages?" Tsunade wondered. She straightened the stack of papers that made the treaty. She'd been sitting on the very comfortable chair across Sasuke's, going through the truce, for most of the day. They'd gone through every page so far and were two pages away from the end. It was a wordier version of his proposition, with clauses and small add-ins here and there. This was a difficult add-in.

Sasuke nodded, glaring at the Hokage was if she were stupid. It was his famous _Are you stupid?_ glare. "I realize," he said. He used the tone of an impatient adult talking to a moronic child. "But I also know you have a say in what goes on in to the Kage councils. Put in a good word for me; intervene whenever they do something against me. With that, and Sakura, your end of the bargain will be kept."

Tsunade gave Sasuke her copy of his infamous glare. "You also realize that I'm one person out of five, right? I can only do so much."

"That is not my problem," Sasuke said condescendingly.

Tsunade sighed, rolling her hazel eyes, seeing nothing to this problem than to do as he said. She turned the last page, reading over it, seeing nothing to strike her weary. Usually, she signed without a problem, sometimes—usually—not doing so much as reading over it. She may be one jigoku of a kunoichi, but she'd be lying if she said she was equally as good a Hokage. She reached over the desk and grabbed a pen and signed her name in two big, bold characters. She could feel her heart heaving, but gave away no signal of it. There it was, staring at her in the guilt of her name: Sakura was no longer a Konoha kunoichi; she belonged to Otogakure now.

Tsunade caught a glimpse of a smile—a real smile, bright and shinning. He had a single dimple, she noticed, before it was gone just as quickly as it came, leaving behind no hint of its being except a straight line. Sasuke stood up, walking to the door just as it slid open, rumbling as it did so. He waited for Tsunade to do the same before leading her to the northern lounge.

* * *

Sakura had given them the tour and shown them rooms from which the team of ANBU was free to choose until they left. Then she took them back to the northern lounge where Hebia tended to frequent. It was weird, learning that, because she hadn't known that in the past few weeks she'd been staying here. It sort of made her feel like a bad daughter. But she'd given the guys the tour and sat down on the sofa with Ino and Hinata as the guys made small-talk with each other. It was obvious they weren't very comfortable.

Speaking of uncomfortable, Sakura still wondered what would have happened if they'd seen the Tarū. Apparently, it showed up randomly whenever it wanted after the first time. That was sure something she would've liked to have read in the _Bloodline Limits Almost Lost to Life _book. Being part of a generation-skipping, gender-bias kekkei genkai sure was uninformative.

"Where's the Uchiha kid from?" Ino asked, ripping Sakura from her thoughts. Ino pointed at the playpen that someone had dragged from wherever to here. Burūsu and Fugaku played, winding up a Jack-in-the-Box and laughing when it popped.

Luisanna turned from the boys to look at Ino. Her black brows rose and a half-smile lifted her cheeks. It couldn't quite be called a smirk though. "Kuku-kun is the fruit of my…" She didn't quite know what to call Itachi. Boyfriend, husband, and baby-daddy all seemed to fit. _Love of my life_ seemed to too, but that was a bit clichéd. "Of my Itachi's looms."

Ino gagged and Hinata stared down; they were wearing their ANBU masks, and underneath them Ino made a face and Hinata blushed. Sakura laughed at Anna-chan's vulgarity. "Thank Kami you don't need acid," she murmured. Then to the Puerto Rican she said, "The kids are here, please don't make the comments any worse."

"Sorry if I was spoiled!" Luisanna teased, throwing her hands in the air and turning around.

A shiver went down Sakura's spine; she made a face. "What's that about?" Ino asked, her expression unreadable overtop her mask. Underneath it, however, jealously of being outside the inside jokes made her frown.

Sakura shook her head. There was a smile on her face; it was one that hadn't come out of its hiding place for ages. Ino felt bad about not being the one to coax it out of its hidey-hole. She couldn't make her best friend smile like that, and yet this strange woman, the late Itachi's concubine no doubt, could. Ino could feel the inner resentment boiling inside herself. This was one of the people Sakura was going to spend the rest of her life with, while Ino had just rekindled their friendship.

Kakashi pushed himself off the rock-colored wall. "Sakura," he said. His eyes were half-hooded in his laziness. Relaxation was coming over him even in the enemy's home. "Would you mind if we had a talk?"

Sakura cocked her head to Ino and Hinata. She stood up when they nodded their heads, the universal girl-talk for _It's okay if you leave us_. Kakashi led her out to the hallway, his dark black eyes no longer hooded. He leaned against the clean stone wall. He looked up at the ceiling. "You love him," he announced, his eyes not moving from the ceiling. His tone wasn't accusing or condescending; it was as if he were stating a fact or commenting on the weather.

"Did you ever really think I stopped?" Sakura sighed. She sounded rather hopeless, her voice sad and deflated. It wasn't as if she hadn't _tried_ to get over Sasuke—moreover, she'd gone to great length to do so, going so far as to having a quick flirtation with the prince she was guarding in another country—it was just that her heart had _refused_ to. She didn't think she was in love with Sasuke when she was eleven; she had been in love with the _idea_ of Sasuke. But as time went on and she started seeing Sasuke more as a person instead of a fancy boy that everyone wanted, she'd started to fall in love _with _Sasuke. And the past few weeks had ended the falling, tied together all loose threads. Even with his hypnotizing her and his trying to take a child from his mother, she'd landed. If that didn't say something about her taste in guys—and her mental sanity—she wasn't sure what did.

But when she thought of Sasuke, her knees grew weak and her heart stopped and worked overtime. Her skin tingled where he touched her and her breath caught at his kisses.

Kakashi sighed. "Do you think you'll be happy here?"

"I'll be as happy as I want to be," Sakura answered. "There's nothing holding me behind."

"Won't you miss us?"

"Every second of every day," Sakura said. She suddenly felt heavy. "But I'll visit. I'll write. I'll call. I'll make sure I'm the first one notified if any of you die." It wasn't outside the realm of possibility, seeing as they were ninja and would likely remain so until their ending breath. She could see it now, her friends fighting, their backs hunched over and their wrists too weak to support their hands, complaining about being hungry, and still killing some shiri.

The copy ninja pulled his student in for a hug. "We'll miss you," he said, and held her as a father might hold his daughter on her wedding day—full of love and support and hope and the sadness of having to give her away.

* * *

**I would say the story's almost done. What say you? **

**R&R!**


	40. Chapter 40

**The only Japanese will be names and cuss words (unless I can't find them). And they still will have the asterisks (*) and translations in at the bottom. If they're not here, they're in a previous chapter. Unimportant names—like store names that are irrelevant to the story and there for visual's sake—will be in English.**

**Standard disclaimer applied.**

* * *

The room they'd put Robāto wasn't a room. It wasn't even a cell. The whole place was half underground, but this level was below all of it, making the place dank and cold, the air sour.

This place was horrible. There was mold on the wall, as if it'd dripped down from the cinderblocks. The floor was uneven and crude. There were chains hanging from the cinderblock walls. Worse of all, blood stained everything. There were bloodstains painting the walls like paint splatters. There was no rhyme or motion to the way they were splayed. They were just everywhere. Mostly they were near the chains, close enough to be a head wound or far enough to have been a shot to the leg. There was a stench in the stale air. A stab from the inside of his stomach told Robāto that it had to be the smell of old blood…old blood and death.

A shiver stole down the redhead's spine. He remembered the rumors that swept across the village whenever the simple name _Uchiha_ was even whispered. There was nothing more terrifying than the thought of a skeleton man with a huge hooded black robe, extending his boney fingers out to stroke the life out of his friend Sasuke's victim. It was a terrifying thought, almost as terrifying as the reoccurring dreams he'd had about his wife's brother. Those cold, protective, reptilian yellow eyes—loving in more than just a brotherly fashion when the faceless voice mentioned his sister's name. Incest, after all, ran in the family, and Robāto was all too aware of his wife and daughter's family's history. It was a lesson taught in health class, the story of the Senshi's inbreeding and why it was dangerous.

Robāto looked around again, blue eyes having long adjusting to the low lighting. There were tools of all kinds of horror. The place Robāto had been thrown into to be forgotten wasn't a jail cell. It was a torture chamber. And here he was, chained to a wall.

He squirmed slightly, thinking again of the hateful gaze in those yellow eyes. So much anger, so much hate, so much protectiveness, so much _love_ had been packed into that glare. It made him feel terrified. There was nothing more deserving of fear, Robāto remembered his sister saying once, than a man in love. He felt the need to snort when his older sister had told him that. Now he didn't quite know. A dead man can't possibly be a danger, but… Why would a dead man be reoccurring in his dreams?

Robāto practically groaned in unexplained, unreasonable, irrational dread. His arms were tired together and his nose was itching from the freaky stench. But his head snapped up at the sound of someone coming down the stairs. He saw the bright colorless light and the shadow of a man with broad shoulders. There was a muted _click_ resounding, the sound of someone walking down the stairs. A quick, muffled _poof_ sounded as torches came to life with a blue fire. The man came down the stairs with an unhurried determination. As soon as his foot stepped on the stained concrete of the ground, the non-room came to life with a dulled blue light. It reviled the man's face to Robāto. High royal cheekbones, square jaw and slightly pointed chin, straight and strong nose, thin lips. Colorless black eyes.

The redhead swallowed. Robāto'd seen this man once before as he told him how horrible a father he'd been. This was the last of the Uchiha. This was Uchiha Sasuke. This was the man his daughter was going to spend the rest of her life with. Robāto felt himself tremble a bit. Would he end up a stain on the walls, just as many in this room had before him?

Sasuke appraised him for a second. He crossed his arms over his chest, a look of anger and cold protectiveness and _love _in his eyes. The look that had haunted him in his dreams had found new eyes. It didn't look any less terrifying in the depths of the cold darkness of the Uchiha's eyes. He stayed there, glaring, for a long while, until Robāto squirmed in his ties. His arms were knotted together and only one foot was chained to the wall, but suddenly he felt as if he were tied to the walls, vulnerable to this man who held a friendship with the devil.

"What is it?" Robāto heard himself snap. The words were detached from him, as if someone else had spoken them. They sounded brave compared to how he felt; he was unsure of it being a good thing. Nevertheless, pride overtook his squirming self as he heard the sound of his own voice and he straightened his shoulders. He couldn't bring himself to look the teen in the eyes, instead settling on staring at the regal eyebrows. Robāto silently berated himself for being afraid of a _teenager_, of a _boy_.

The Uchiha humphed. "Do you feel proud of yourself?" he wondered, his voice void of all and any emotion. Not even the hate that Robāto would have expected to drip from the boy's voice was evident. The Uchiha's arms flexed as he struggled with his anger.

Robāto glared at the boy's brows. He couldn't come face to face with the emotions in those dark eyes. "Proud of _what_? Of having a first-class escort to see my daughter one last time? Of course. Of _kuso _course, Uchiha," he answered with a strength he didn't feel. His hands fumbled around themselves, betraying the strong façade he'd donned.

"Tch," Sasuke snorted. The muscles in his arms jumped with the urge to unleash the chidori. Or at least knock this redhead out the old fashioned way with a well aimed punch. If it weren't for the jigoku he'd no doubt have to endure from Sakura and even Luisanna, he would have done it. Killed him for the pain and the scars he'd caused Sakura. For the tears. One well-placed kunai for each and every tear she'd ever shed because of this man. Sasuke ignored the sarcastic answer. "Do you know she's terrified of facing you down here?" he asked. Sasuke was a man of few words, but that didn't mean he wasn't good with them. He knew just how to use them to guilt someone into anything; it was a skill long learned. "You've scarred her, both emotionally and bodily. She _hates_ you." A muscle in his neck jumped. "She won't say it. You're her father, she doesn't _want _to hate you. But she does."

Robāto bit the inside of his cheek. "Like you're any better," he spat. He wanted to cross his arms as the teen did, to show his dominance, but his hands were tied. He widened his stance a bit. "She cried after you left. Wailed like a mesu. She tried to talk to me"—the redhead winced at the memory—"but I wouldn't listen, and she ended up cutting herself. And then she moved out." He wanted to provide the boy with more information, with more to layer the tiny glimpse of pain leaking through the stone façade, but honestly he didn't have anymore info. It made him feel as horrible as he should.

Sasuke made that _tch_ sound again. "I may be worthless," he said, the muscles in his arms jumping at the image of blood running down Sakura's delicate wrists as tears stained her pale pinkish cheeks that the redhead provided, "but _you_ are dirt." He turned around, walking back up the stairs, the fire following him, leaving Robāto shrouded in darkness, the stench of blood melting with the ruthless anger the Uchiha had radiated.

* * *

Sakura smiled. She never wanted this to end. Everyone she loved was in one place, getting along as if they hadn't tried to kill each other on repeated occasions. Everyone was mingling, albeit uneasily, and everyone was laughing. Hinata was giggling at something Luisanna said; Suigetsu and Naruto were exchanging horrible jokes, while Sai and Jūgo were rolling their eyes at them; Karin and Ino were bickering; Neji. TenTen, and Lee were asking about Hebia her ninjutsu skills; Shikamaru was playing shogi with Kakashi while Tsunade placed bets; and Shizune was asking the rosette about her life in Oto so far. Everyone was getting along. Everything was calm. Everything was _right_.

She frowned when she realized none of this would last. She had to choose between one or the other, and she'd chosen Oto, the land full of rapist and murderers and nukenin. She'd chosen people she hardly knew over people she considered family. The guilt of it was a heavy weight on her shoulders. Neji's words resounded in her head as she told Shizune about meeting Luisanna: _But you aren't sure?_

Sakura trusted Sasuke with her life. But did she trust him with others'?

She brushed the thought aside to be dealt with later. Right now she couldn't think of anything to sour this perfect occasion, with this perfect harmony of her new life and her old. She wanted to savor every detail. "How have things been at the hospital?" she asked Shizune. "How has Rizu-chan been dealing?"

Shizune smiled. "Everything's been fine," she answered. "Rizu-chan's been doing okay, we let her off the first two weeks though. The poor thing couldn't even say her name, she was so sad." Shizune updated Sakura on her patients' doings, patients that had been handed over to Rizu's hands now. Sakura's insides twisted at the thought of sweet old Azume-sama starting over with a doctor she hardly knew. And the thought of Cherushī having someone other than her Titi Sakura to give her her muscle therapy sessions. Tears prickled at the back of her eyes. She was leaving behind her cousin Kimani and Efrian, and their two little kids Cherushī and Nao. She wouldn't even get to say goodbye.

Sasuke entered the room, flicking the back of Naruto's head. "_Hey_!" the blonde complained, turning around to see a smirking Sasuke with his hands in his pockets. Just like old times. "Teme!"

Sasuke tsked. "Dobe," he insulted back, but the slight smirk didn't leave him. Naruto smiled at him, the warmth of old days making it hard to be mad.

As Sakura chatted with Shizune, she smiled, having seen the conversation out of the corner of her eyes. Yes, she decided, she could trust Sasuke with the lives of others.

* * *

The time for them to leave come too soon. It was nightfall and, though Sasuke had been uncharacteristically clear that they could stay, they were all adamant about leaving. Sakura understood; they were in land that had only this morning been called enemy territory. It was unsettling. But it still wasn't safe for them to be wandering the night when news of the treaty hadn't gone past the Sound Palace. When Sakura voiced this concern, Kakashi had rolled his eyes and pointed out that they'd gotten here safe and sound before the treaty was even a thought. The rosette had pouted childishly, causing a giggle to leave Ino's lips.

Sakura had said goodbye to each of them alone, even when Neji had frostily told her goodbye. She wouldn't have that and had thrown her arms around the unhappy Hyūga, then assured him that she would be fine. She'd cried with Ino as they said goodbye. She'd begged Hinata to take care of Naruto. She kissed Kakashi's forehead as he had a rare, uncharacteristic bout of fatherly worry, then said something so utterly suggestive that she forgot how to do anything other than try to punch him. She'd punched Naruto's shoulder as he said something stupid, then hugged him when he begged her to stay safe. She laughed when Kiba had begged to keep Burūsu. She tried to escape Lee's tearful hugs and promises to return to "his beautiful cherry blossom"—in fact, the bowl-haired teen wouldn't let go until Sasuke physically removed him, all the while Lee screamed and vowed to love her forever. She tried to keep her cool—and failed in the worst possible way—while Sai called her ugly and offered her a fake smile, underlined with something _real_. She rubbed her arms as she begged Shizune to keep Cherushī healthy. She hugged Shikamaru as she said goodbye.

She hadn't said a word to her father.

She held Tsunade as she cried.

Tsunade had tears in her eyes. "I'm going to miss you, kid," she had said. Strands of her thin blonde hair had fallen over her hazel eyes and she hadn't even made a move to push them away. The purple diamond in the center of her forehead was covered with blonde strands. She'd never allowed it to be covered; it was her pride and joy. Today it was broken from view by strands of blonde.

Sakura had swallowed. "I am too," she responded. There had been a stone in her throat. No matter how many times she tried to swallow past it, it remained, strong in her throat. Her green eyes shimmered with her own tears after having to have fought them off for the longest time. She wanted to keep her tears inside until this perfect, bittersweet day came to an end. Until after she said goodbye to everything she'd ever known. Her eyes had other plans. Sakura swallowed again. "I love you, Tsunade-senpai."

The Hokage sobbed, and tears raced down her cheekbones. Her cheeks were flushed scarlet. "Oh, Sakura," she cried softly, "I'll miss you. I'll miss my little girl so much." She threw her arms around Sakura, hugging her as tightly as she could manage. A low soft escaped her throat again. She was leaving this girl behind and she would possibly never see her again. Never see her little protégé. Never see the girl she'd come to love. Never laugh when she punched someone for their idiocy. Never call her into her office to appoint a mission. Never..._see_ her. "I love you too, Sakura."

"I'll be okay," Sakura promised, hugging the Hokage tight. "I promise. Sasuke won't let anything happen to me. _I_ won't let anything happen to me. I'll call. I'll write. I'll visit. Promise."

Tsunade had let Sakura go then. Tears were streaming from her eyes, tracing a patternless trial down her cheeks with reckless abandon. Her thin pink lips were quivering. A frustrated flush dusted from cheek to cheek, burning her nose red. Her small nose was crinkling as she sniffled. Her hazel eyes were glazed with tears. Her brows were creased with sadness. Her eyelashes were sticking together because of her tears. She pressed quick kisses to Sakura's cheeks, which were just as flushed as her own where. In fact, Sakura's face was in much the same shape as her own. Tsunade smiled. "Don't start drinking and gambling over here," she warned, still smiling.

Sakura laughed a bit. The sound was strained; it was a sound to keep away sobs. "Can I start smoking?" she asked playfully. A bittersweet smile lined her thick pink lips.

"You better not," Tsunade said, crossing her arms over her chest, grinning. "That gomi is bad for you."

Sakura returned the Hokage's hug again, tip-toeing up to push away the blonde strands and pressing a kiss to the violet diamond. "You know I know it is," she agreed. "I—I'll see you later." _This is only goodbye, _she told herself, _this is not farewell._ "I know I will." She swallowed.

Tsunade had done the same. She had followed the rest of the team—the rest of Sakura's _life_—out of the Sound Palace.

Now Sakura was sitting, curled, on the sofa in the northern lounge, watching as Suigetsu and Karin bickered again. A small smile had crept onto her expression, providing a honeyed favor to her woeful appearance.

Suigetsu's head was morphed into water as Karin threw a pillow at his head. The water splashed onto the stone, thankfully missing all of the many rugs that lined the hard flooring. "_One day_, Karin!" he shouted when his face came together. "That's all I ask for! _One day_ that you don't change my face into water!"

Karin snorted. "I'd like one imaimashī day when you don't _annoy _me!"

"I seem to remember a day when you _begged_ me to stay with you!"

Karin laughed. "Yeah, and that ended so well!" she retorted. There was something that wasn't there a few weeks ago, a softness to the quibbling. It sounded more like teasing than fighting, now. "I really _did not_ need to know about the things that have been up your shiri!"

Sakura dug her head into her knees, hiding her face as she let out a sour giggle.

Suigetsu laughed, full and gleeful, unaffected by the falling of Sakura's life. "I said I didn't _remember_, I didn't say it was up my shiri!" he defended himself.

"_Same thing_, you little freak!" Karin gagged. There was a smile under her voice.

Sakura felt the sofa dent and looked up. Sasuke sat next to her, placing a hand on her shoeless foot. He offered her a small smirk, and Sakura felt the weight of the world lift from her shoulders. She hated that. She didn't want to depend so completely on him. But she smiled back, basking in the relief that shrouded her. She would get used to this, she promised herself. "How're things?" she asked him.

"Things are well," Sasuke said. His fingers were warm on Sakura's feet, an anchor. "We're going to start moving the sand."

Sakura's brows lifted. "You mean we're actually going to be above ground?"

Sasuke smirked at her. "We are," he announced.

"That sounds nice," she told him, "because it's freezing down here and being buried by sand isn't helping." She adjusted herself so Sasuke's hand moved from her foot to drape across her shoulders. "But this is better." Sakura looked up to see Sasuke's onyx eyes rolling. "Luisanna went to sleep," she informed him. It was already almost midnight, but either sleep couldn't find Sakura or she wasn't trying hard enough, because she couldn't sleep. "Momma went out for a walk with Sho-san and they haven't come back in a while," she continued. Her face twisted as she thought of what they could possibly be doing. "I offered to put the boys to bed. Kuku-kun was crying for his poppa."

Sasuke winced. Sakura didn't miss it.

"We should order in some antidepressants from Konoha until I can get the ingredients to make them," Sakura told him. "He's a kid, a _toddler_, he shouldn't have to deal with this on his own. If we can get him on a regiment, and slowly take them away, then he could deal with it on his own. In a few years, he'll hardly remember Itachi." The thought brought a frown to her face.

Sasuke nodded. A stone look overtook his face and he pressed his lips together. Sakura watched as his Adam's apple bobbed lightly. "I'll do what I can," he assured. He watched as Sakura nodded, then, after a moment, as a crease overtook her forehead. "Why didn't you talk to your father?"

Ice spilled over the rosette. "I didn't feel like it," she snapped.

Sasuke glared at her for a second, then nodded again, realizing that she didn't want to talk about it. "It's late," he commented instead.

"I know."

Sasuke pulled on her hand, standing up. "Come on," he ordered, "it's bedtime."

"What, you're ordering me around now?" she said, a teasing smile on her face.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Hn."

Sakura rolled her eyes too. "Not back to that again!" she complained. But she snorted and stood up anyway. "I'll try to sleep."

The Uchiha snorted. "You aren't sleeping."

"Oh, yes, I am," she said. She glared at him and crossed her arms. "You aren't getting me into that bed just yet. What kind of girl do you think I am?"

Sasuke chuckled. "It's still bedtime," he said.

"I'll go to my bed, and you'll go to yours."

"For now."

"You're a horny teenager."

Sasuke shrugged. "All the pamphlets say so."

Sakura laughed at the rare joke. Her fingers interlaced with his and she led him out, ready to go to bed.

Suigetsu whistled. "Get some, you lady's man!" he catcalled.

Sakura snorted. "He wishes."

* * *

**I left this open-ended in case I ever want to make a sequel. I had so much fun writing this.**

**I am thinking on editing all the Japanese, excluding names and notes, from this story once it finishes. This'll be the last chapter, unless I am begged for an epilogue or even a sequel. _I had so much fun doing this story,_ she says again, like a broken record. **

_**I am still waiting on that fanart, dammit.**_

**Oh, and I figure this is worth mentioning:  
You can use my OC's, _so long as you give me credit and say where they come from_. Oh, and send me a link; I'd love to read them. **


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